🚀 Mortgage Refinancing Falls

Market Overview
Read time 1.4 minutes

Year To Date Performances:

1. Mortgage refinancing surged last week as the average 30-year fixed rate fell to 6.67%, sparking a 23% jump in refi applications, the strongest since April, and pushing refis to nearly half of all mortgage activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Larger-loan borrowers proved especially rate-sensitive, with the average refinance size hitting $366,400, while adjustable-rate mortgage demand jumped 25% to its highest share since 2022, driven by a lower 5/1 ARM rate of 5.80%. Purchase applications rose just 1% week-over-week but were 17% higher than a year ago, as home prices remain historically high despite recent softening; mortgage rates have held steady this week as markets weigh the odds of a Fed rate cut in September.

2. Amazon is expanding its same-day delivery of fresh foods, tested in Phoenix and a few other cities, to more than 1,000 U.S. locations, with plans to reach 2,300 by year’s end, offering Prime members free delivery on orders over $25 (or $2.99 for smaller orders) and charging non-members $12.99. The move, which boosts repeat shopping for first-time grocery customers, sent Instacart shares tumbling over 11% and pressured Kroger, Albertsons, and Walmart, as analysts see it escalating Amazon–Walmart competition in groceries and rural markets; the expansion comes amid Amazon’s broader grocery overhaul, including integrating Whole Foods more closely with its own operations.

3. CoreWeave’s stock tumbled 14% after the AI data center provider reported a wider-than-expected second-quarter adjusted loss of $0.27 per share, missing analyst expectations of a $0.21 loss, despite revenue more than tripling year-over-year to $1.21 billion and exceeding forecasts. The company also raised its 2025 revenue outlook to $5.15–$5.35 billion, above prior guidance, and continues to see demand from major clients like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Nvidia outpace supply. However, the results came just before Thursday’s expiration of its post-IPO lockup period, raising concerns over potential insider selling, while analysts flagged lighter-than-expected capital spending, delays in deployment timing, and uncertainty following its acquisition of Core Scientific as factors that could limit near-term upside.

   Headlines

   1. Goldman Sachs believes that US consumers will still need to bear the brunt of the additional costs imposed by tariffs, not foreign companies or governments.

   2. Trump has reportedly created a shortlist of 11 candidates to replace Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chair.

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