Capstead Mortgage says market settling down

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Capstead Mortgage Corp (CMO.N) said on Tuesday that it expected to have sufficient liquidity to manage its $7.3 billion portfolio absent any significant drop in financing availability, but it would take a $1.5 million first-quarter loss from a recent sale of $760 million of debt.

The announcement suggests easing pressure on the agency real estate investment trust, which invests in mortgages backed by Fannie Mae (FNM.N) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N).

In a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Dallas-based Capstead said recent U.S. Federal Reserve actions to support the mortgage securities market had in the last week "largely" alleviated market concerns about the pricing of agency-guaranteed mortgage debt.

It also said regulatory actions, including the Fed's role in the takeover of Bear Stearns Cos BSC.N by JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), had largely stalled momentum toward higher collateral requirements beyond the current 5 percent level.

Separately, Capstead said it would incur a $2.9 million loss to terminate a $100 million interest-rate swap agreement.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)