Mortgage rates inched lower Thursday in volatile trading. This morning, mortgage-backed securities (MBS) markets reacted favorably to yesterday’s Fed announcement that it would purchase $600 billion of US Treasurys in the coming months. As demand for Treasuries increases, other bond investments, including MBS’s, become relatively more attractive to investors. In economic news, weekly Jobless Claims rose to 457,000, above forecast. Third quarter Productivity rose 1.9%, beating expectations. Stocks rallied to their highest levels since September 2008, before the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The closely-watched Non-farm Payrolls report will be released tomorrow at 8:30 AM. No other data will be released today.