Ambac Financial Group Inc (AMBC)

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Bond insurer shares surge on home sales data
Tue Aug 4, 2009 3:19pm EDT Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single Page[-] Text [+]
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares in bond insurers including MBIA Inc (MBI.N) and Ambac Financial Group (ABK.N) soared on Tuesday on better-than-expected home sales data.

The bond insurers, hurt by losses after a disastrous foray into guaranteeing mortgage-backed securities, appeared to surge on a report showing pending sales of existing U.S. homes rose for a fifth straight month in June, an analyst said.

Shares in Armonk, New York-based MBIA jumped almost 28 percent to $5.70 in afternoon trading, while shares in New York-based Ambac climbed as much as 30 percent to a high of 99 cents, even after that company warned July 27 of heavy losses from derivatives during the second quarter.

"Home sales appear to be getting better," said Jim Ryan, an analyst at Morningstar in Chicago.

Shares in bond insurers might be rising because an improving housing market would mean lower losses on mortgage-backed securities, he added.

Milwaukee-based mortgage insurers MGIC Investment Corp (MTG.N) and its smaller rival Radian Group (RDN.N) also saw their shares rise 11 percent and 10.6 percent.

MBIA will report its quarterly results on Thursday, and Ambac will report on Friday.

Ambac and MBIA have struggled to get new business after crippling losses from risky mortgage securities and rating agencies stripped the bond insurers of their triple-A ratings.

(Reporting by Elinor Comlay)