NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Bonds rose sharply Thursday as U.S. stocks tumbled, marking its second worst day of the year, on credit woes and weak economic reports.
The 10-year jumped 29/32, or $9.06 on a $1,000 note, to yield 4.79 percent, down from 4.90 percent Wednesday. The 30-year bond surged 1-3/32, or $10.94 on a $1,000 note, to yield 4.97 percent, down from 5.02 percent. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The 5-year gained 24/32 to yield 4.62 percent. While the 2-year rose 10/32 to yield 4.57 percent.
Earlier in the session, a raft of weak earnings from homebuilders D.R. Horton, Beazer Homes, as well as Pulte and Ryland, which reported earnings after hours Wednesday, pushed stocks down, making bonds an attractive safe haven for investors.
The Dow industrials sank 311 points amid a tougher time for the credit markets and with continuous bad news in the housing market.
Investors are watching the housing market closely both as a gauge of the economy as a whole and because weakness in homebuilding has the potential to spill over into automotive, lending and construction industries.
Lower than expected durable goods orders and tame unemployment figures have only made bonds look more attractive to investors.
The pace of new home sales was weaker than expected in June, according to the government's latest look at the battered real estate and home building market.
New homes sold at an annual pace of 834,000 in the month, down 6.6 percent from the revised 893,000 rate in May. It was the lowest annual rate for sales since March. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast sales would slow to a 900,000 annual sales rate in June.
Year-over-year, new home sales sank 22.3 percent.
In currency trading, the euro bought $1.374 up from $1.371, while the dollar bought ¥118.13 down sharply from ¥120.49 Wednesday. 
