Treasurys dip as $21B auction sees big demand

By Annalyn Censky, staff reporter


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Treasurys traded lower Wednesday as stocks advanced slightly and a government auction of $21 billion in 10-year notes generated strong demand.

What prices are doing: The benchmark 10-year note fell 5/32 to 99-8/32, and its yield rose to 3.721%. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

10yearyeld.mkw.gif

The 30-year bond fell 5/32 to 99 and its yield rose to 4.689%. The 2-year note fell 2/32 to 99-30/32 with a yield of 0.912%. The 5-year note fell 7/32 to 100 with a yield of 2.384%.

What's moving the market: After strong demand in the government's $40 billion auction of 3-year notes Tuesday, an auction of 10-year notes Wednesday was also well-received.

Investors submitted bids totaling nearly $72.3 billion for the $21 billion worth of 10-year notes.

The bid-to-cover ratio, a measure of demand, was 3.45. That's up from 2.67 at the previous auction in February.

Thursday, the government also will auction $13 billion in 30-year bonds.

Stocks rose Wednesday on strong gains from financial services and technology companies and mixed news from two economic reports. Trading has been mostly lackluster this week as investors take a step back amid no major news on the economic front.

The U.S. Commerce Department said wholesale inventories unexpectedly fell 0.2% in January. Separately, the Labor Department said fewer states reported increases in unemployment in January.

Meanwhile, the Treasury Department announced a record $221 billion monthly deficit in February. The shortfall was up from the previous record of $193.9 billion in February last year.

What analysts are saying: In the absence of any major economic data Tuesday, the Treasury market is merely moving based on the 10-year note auction, said Michael Cheah, a bond fund manager for SunAmerica.

Meanwhile, Greece's plan is much talked about but doesn't appear to be a major market mover. The panic over Greece's debt subsided after the country's auction of 10-year bonds brought in about $6.8 billion last week.

The market is diluting itself on this news but the calming effect could wear off, Cheah said.

"Nobody wants to talk about this giant dead rat under the carpet," he said. "The Greek situation is a basket case because as a country they're spending more than they take in and their people are not prepared to spend less, nor be taxed more." 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

updated with results from 30-year bond auction

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.