Markets

What you can track here

Stocks: end-of-day prices for the 10 largest NYSE companies by market value. Crypto: search any coin listed on CoinGecko for its live price and history. Metals: gold, silver, platinum and palladium spot prices captured each morning, plus monthly averages for industrial metals. Commodities: oil, gasoline, diesel, natural gas, propane, wheat, corn and more from FRED and the International Monetary Fund.

Markets and your down payment

If you plan to buy within the next few years, the money for your down payment usually belongs somewhere it cannot drop in value right before closing, such as a savings account, money market account, certificates of deposit or Treasury bills. Stocks, crypto and metals can fall sharply in a single year, and a down payment that shrinks when you need it can delay a purchase. Watching markets is useful context; it is not a reason to move money you need soon.

Markets still affect home buyers. Mortgage rates tend to follow long-term Treasury yields, and inflation shapes what the Federal Reserve does next. See rates and the economy for the 30-year mortgage rate, inflation and the Fed funds rate side by side.

Energy prices and the cost of owning a home

Heating oil, propane and natural gas prices feed straight into winter bills, and electricity rates set what it costs to cool a home in summer. If you are comparing places to buy, check electricity rates by ZIP and add a realistic utility budget to your monthly payment estimate.

How current the data is

Crypto prices load live from CoinGecko when you search. Stock prices are end-of-day. Metals spot prices are captured each morning from gold-api.com, and commodity series update when FRED or the IMF publishes them, which for some series is monthly. Each chart names its source under the chart. Nothing here is investment advice.