Greece bailout fears boost Treasurys

By Annalyn Censky, staff reporter


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. bonds rallied Tuesday, as fears about Greece's ability to refinance its debt again plagued investors.

What prices are doing: The benchmark 10-year note rose 23/32 to 100-6/32, pushing the yield down to 3.61%. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

10yearyield.png
Click the chart for current prices and yields.

The 30-year bond rallied 1-24/32 to 103-10/32 with a 4.43% yield. The 2-year note rose to 100-3/32 with a 0.96% yield. The 5-year note gained 12/32 to 100-18/32, yielding 2.39%.

What's moving the market: At a meeting in Berlin Tuesday, a coalition of three German political parties called for legislation that, in the future, would allow for the "orderly" default of euro-zone countries with massive deficits.

Over the weekend, Greece accepted a $146 billion bailout package containing tough austerity measures that have since ignited strikes by civil servants in the struggling country.

Investors are worried the bailout may not be fully approved by other eurozone countries in time for Greece to meet its May 19 deadline for refinancing 8.5 billion euros (about $11.1 billion) in debt.

Another concern on investors' minds is -- are Portugal, Spain and some of Europe's other debt-strapped countries next?

Stocks slumped Tuesday, as concerns about European debt curbed appetites for risk.

Investors often view U.S. debt as a more attractive investment in light of economic instability in other countries, and this week, Europe is not the only region with problems that has increased the safe-haven appeal of Treasurys.

China is also part of the brew. The country's central bank, over a long holiday weekend, said it would raise banks' reserve requirements to rein in inflation.

What analysts are saying: "It's the same old story," said Kim Rupert, a fixed income analyst with Action Economics. Tuesday's upward movement for Treasurys exemplifies yet another "flight-to-quality" bid, seen many times over the last few months as Greece's debt crisis has aroused concerns from investors and driven them to purchase lower-risk U.S. bonds, she said.

"The bailout package over the weekend wasn't really a panacea, it just creates more problems than it solves," Rupert said. "It makes for a pretty sour tone for equities, and that's positive for Treasurys." To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Overnight Avg Rate Latest Change Last Week
30 yr fixed3.80%3.88%
15 yr fixed3.20%3.23%
5/1 ARM3.84%3.88%
30 yr refi3.82%3.93%
15 yr refi3.20%3.23%
Rate data provided
by Bankrate.com
View rates in your area
 
Find personalized rates:
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.