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Bonds, dollar drift sideways
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December 7, 1998: 4:29 p.m. ET
Lack of economic data and focus on stocks keep bond market action slow
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Lack of market-moving economic data and continued bullish action in stocks kept U.S. bond and currency markets subdued Monday.
Bonds ended the day mostly lower, pressured by the stock market's advances as well as looming corporate supply. Shorter maturities suffered most of the erosion, while the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond was the only issue to finish with a gain, rising 2/32 of a point in price, to trade at 103-7/32 at around 4 p.m. ET, for a yield of 5.03 percent.
Some experts attributed the weakness among shorter-term Treasury issues to positioning among market players ahead of a $2 billion corporate debt issue by Seagram, expected to hit the market later in the week.
But overall trading volume in the bond market was extremely low, as about $58 billion of Treasury securities changed hands, more than 20 percent below the average trading volume for a fourth-quarter Monday.
Meanwhile, the dollar ended the day near where it started against major currencies, also confined by lack of significant economic releases.
The greenback received modest support against European currencies from a statement by European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg, who said the ECB would oppose an overvalued euro against the dollar. The euro, Europe's common currency, is scheduled to take effect in January.
Duisenberg also said euro-zone interest rates were set for the "foreseeable future," cutting short speculation of more interest-rate cuts in Europe which could weaken the dollar.
However, expectations that the Bank of England is poised to lower interest rates this week helped boost the dollar against the British pound.
The greenback closed at 1.6795 marks, up slightly from 1.6775 at the start of U.S. trading.
The greenback traded at 119.74 yen, down slightly from 119.85 in the morning. 
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