NEW YORK—Shares of mortgage insurers closed lower Thursday after a decline in an index measuring the volume of mortgage applications offered little hope for a recovery in the housing market.
The Mortgage Bankers Association early Thursday reported applications for home loans sank 11.6 percent last week as fewer people sought money to buy homes or refinance existing debt.
Mortgage insurers have been battered for months as sinking home prices choke mortgage credit quality.
These companies write insurance policies promising to reimburse lenders when borrowers default. As more mortgage borrowers fail to repay their loans, claims expectations swell and contracts protecting mortgage debt lose value.
Here is how shares of some mortgage lenders fared Thursday:
Shares of PMI Group Inc. fell 76 cents, or 6 percent, to $11.96.
Shares of MGIC Mortgage Investment Corp. slipped $1.02, or 4.7 percent, to $20.70.
Shares of Radian Group Inc. declined 78 cents, or 6.7 percent, to $10.83.
Shares of Triad Guaranty Inc. eased 10 cents to $9.97.
