Wednesday's bond market has opened in negative territory following the release of mixed economic data and a strong open in stocks. The stock markets are reacting favorably to the data, pushing the Dow up 126 points and the Nasdaq up 44 points. The bond market is currently down 22/32, which will likely increase this morning's mortgage rates by approximately

.500 of a discount point over yesterday's morning pricing.

We had four monthly reports posted this morning in addition to weekly unemployment figures that are normally released Thursday mornings. They certainly failed to give a consensus about which direction the economy is heading. The first piece of data was October's Durable Goods Orders early this morning. The Commerce Department said that new orders for big-ticket items, or products that are expected to last three or more years, fell 3.3% last month. This was good news for the bond market because it was much weaker than the 0.3% decline that was expected and the largest monthly drop since January 2009. Even a secondary reading that excludes more volatile transportation-related orders such as airplanes and autos fell well short of forecasts. That indicates weakness in the manufacturing sector that makes a broader economic recovery less likely anytime soon.