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Bond wavers on jobs data
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January 8, 1999: 9:21 a.m. ET
Hearty unemployment report joins soft dollar, stock gains, as drag on Treasurys
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The latest surprising sign that the economy hasn't lost its head of steam added another negative impulse to the market for U.S. Treasury bonds Friday.
A blustery jobless report reverted, if only temporarily, investors' attention off of recent dollar weakness and gains in the stock market as money pours onto Wall Street at the start of the New Year.
At around 9 a.m. ET, the 30-year Treasury issue was down 4/32 in price at 100-7/32, as the yield, which moves inversely, rose to 5.23 percent.
In the wake of the strong employment data, the dollar was regaining its lost footing against the Japanese yen and new euro currency.
The euro briefly dipped below $1.16 against the U.S. greenback, while the Japanese currency was off about a half yen to 111.44 to the dollar.
The U.S. Labor Department reported the nation's jobless rate dipped to 4.3 percent in December, lower than economists polled by Bridge News had expected, as unseasonably warm weather increased construction jobs.
The economy added 378,000 non-farm payroll jobs, far more than the 200,000 that economists had predicted. Because those jobs were seen as temporary -- not a sign of a deep shift in the labor market -- bonds pared their losses shortly after the report.
That report, which took many economy watchers off guard, will be important fodder for the Federal Reserve Board to digest when it meets on Feb. 3-4.
"It's a surprise," Robert Brusca, chief economist at Nikko Securities, said. "Certainly the Fed is worried about inflation, but it has been subdued in recent months, so I wouldn't be too concerned about that."
Stock market gains could return to the forefront of bond investors' minds Friday. The Dow industrials were expected to post sharp gains, based on S&P Futures trading. 
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