New York, Jan 9, 2026, 12:10 EST — Regular session
- UWM Holdings shares climb in midday trade as mortgage-linked stocks rally.
- Trump’s mortgage-bond buying directive puts rates back at the center of the trade.
- Investors now watch inflation data and mortgage-rate prints for follow-through.
Shares of UWM Holdings Corp (UWMC) jumped about 14% on Friday and were last up $0.65 at $5.36. The stock traded between $4.96 and $5.39, with more than 22 million shares changing hands.
The move followed President Donald Trump’s directive to buy $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities — bonds backed by home loans — to try to pull borrowing costs down. “I am giving special attention to the housing market,” Trump wrote, and Annex Wealth Management’s Brian Jacobsen cautioned that “the biggest problem with housing is supply, not demand.” (Reuters)
Why it matters now: UWM and its rivals live and die by rate moves. When mortgage rates ease, demand for purchases and refinancings tends to pick up, and that usually feeds loan volumes and fee income.
UWM Holdings Corporation operates mainly through independent mortgage brokers, rather than retail branches. That setup can amplify the stock’s reaction to policy headlines tied to mortgage costs.
Separately, a Form 4 filing showed CEO Mat Ishbia’s SFS Holding Corp sold three blocks of 632,874 shares on Jan. 5, 6 and 7 under a Rule 10b5-1 plan — a pre-set trading program used by insiders to sell shares. The weighted average sale prices ranged from $4.43 to $4.70, the filing showed. (SEC)
Trump’s order targets the mortgage-bond market that helps set the rate borrowers pay. If those bonds rally and yields fall, mortgage rates can drift lower too — though the timing is messy and the bond market does not always take Washington cues cleanly.
There’s also a catch. A policy-driven drop in rates can lift demand faster than housing supply improves, keeping prices sticky and affordability strained; and if markets doubt the scale or follow-through, the stock move can fade as quickly as it arrived.
Traders will also be staring at the data that hits Treasury yields, a key input for mortgages. The Labor Department is scheduled to publish the December consumer price index on Jan. 13, while the Fed’s next policy meeting is set for Jan. 27-28. (Bls)
Mortgage rates are the near-term scoreboard. Freddie Mac put the average 30-year fixed rate at 6.16% as of Thursday, and its next weekly reading is due Jan. 15. (Freddiemac)
