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Bonds up on stock woes
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October 21, 1999: 9:17 a.m. ET
Treasurys strengthen on expectations of poor opening for equities
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Treasury bonds rose Thursday as investors, anticipating a weaker U.S. stock market open, moved money onto the relative safety of government securities.
Just before 9:10 a.m. ET, the price of the benchmark 30-year bond rose 10/32 to 97-16/32. Its yield, which moves inversely to the price, fell to 6.31 percent from 6.33 percent Wednesday.
Treasurys benefited Thursday from anticipated weakness in the U.S equity market, sparked by Wednesday's earnings warning from bellwether IBM (IBM). Just before 9:10 a.m. ET, S&P futures, an indication of where stocks will open, fell 12.80 to 1279.70.
Still, with no important economic indicators Thursday, analysts expected a mostly quiet, range-bound trading session ahead.
"We don't have a lot of information today," said Bruce Alston, who manages $1.5 billion in bonds for Value Line Asset Management. "I think today is probably a quiet day depending on what the stock market does."
Thursday's bond gain comes after a major bond sell-off for much of October that has sent yields to near two-year highs. As such, few expect yields to move significantly higher in the near-term.
In economic news, the government said the number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose to 298,000, above expectations.
The figure, while higher than expected, is consistent with strong job growth and low unemployment that have prevailed for the last two year. Jobless claims rarely move the market. Thursday was no exception.
Dollar weakens
The dollar Thursday gave up much of Wednesday's gains on fears that U.S stocks will open lower.
Just before 9:10 a.m. ET, the dollar slipped to 106.06 yen from 106.37 Wednesday, a 0.28 percent drop in the dollar's value. It cost $1.0795 to buy one euro, up from $1.0763 Wednesday, a 0.30 percent drop in the dollar's value.
The dollar's losses are in contrast to Wednesday, when the U.S. currency rose strongly as a strengthening U.S. stock market lured overseas investors into dollar-denominated securities.
The euro Thursday got some support after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged at 2.50 percent. 
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