Shares of homebuilders were taking a broad beating Friday, after the stronger-than-expected jobs data sent Treasury yields to fresh 16-year highs, making new homes less affordable. The iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF ITB sank 1.2% toward a four-month low, with 43 of 46 components losing ground. Among the more-active homebuilder components, shares of D.R. Horton Inc. DHI declined 0.8%, of Lennar Corp. LEN lost 0.9%, of PulteGroup Inc. PHM fell 1.7% and of KB Home KBH gave up 2.3%. Home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc. HD is also a component, and the stock fell 1.3%. Mortgage rates are based on the yield of the 10-year Treasury noteBX:TMUBMUSD10Y, and that yield jumped 0.120 percentage points to 4.837%, toward the highest closing yield since Aug. 8, 2007. And the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond BX:TMUBMUSD30Y leapt 0.121 percentage points to 5.007% toward the first close above the 5% threshold since Aug. 15, 2007. The homebuilder ETF has tumbled 15.9% since closing at a record $89.31 on Aug. 1, while the 10-year Treasury yield has increased 0.786 percentage points over the same time and the S&P 500 SPX has lost 7.6%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
