Treasurys Hold Gains After Fed Keeps Rates Unchanged
03 November 2016 - 6:04AM
Dow Jones News
By Sam Goldfarb
U.S. government bonds held on to earlier price gains Wednesday
after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged.
In recent trading, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury
note was 1.787%, according to Tradeweb, compared with 1.785% before
the Fed's statement and 1.822% Tuesday. Yields fall when bond
prices rise.
The yield on the two-year note, which is highly sensitive to the
Fed's policy outlook, was 0.817% in recent trading, compared with
0.813% before the statement and 0.829% Tuesday.
The Fed essentially matched the expectations of investors, who
were betting that the central bank would hold off on raising rates
this month but move at its next meeting in December for the first
time since it raised rates at the end of last year.
Bond prices had climbed earlier in the day amid continued
anxieties related to the U.S. presidential election.
Government bonds sold off sharply last month in part because of
improved global economic data, rising inflation expectations,
concern about less bond buying by major central banks and
discussion about increased spending from governments that would
require more debt issuance.
Bonds, though, have rebounded this week, as investors turned
their attention to next week's. election, which is looking
increasingly like a close contest between the Democratic nominee
Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Although Mrs. Clinton was previously expected to win handily,
polls have tightened recently, forcing investors to price in the
possibility of a victory by Mr. Trump, who is widely viewed as the
candidate more likely to bring uncertainty to government
policies.
Stocks, which fell last month, have come under further pressure,
and investors have piled money into bonds, which are viewed as
haven assets.
Despite a solid report on U.S. manufacturing on Tuesday,
uncertainty caused by the election "is counteracting any bright
spots that we're seeing in the economy," said Jody Lurie, director
in the fixed-income strategy and research department at Janney
Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia.
Also providing a boost to bonds has been the recent drop in oil
prices, which has weighed on stock prices and tempered the recent
increase in inflation expectations, analysts said.
Investors are also looking ahead to Friday's nonfarm payrolls
report, which could further bolster the odds of a December rate
rise if it shows continued strength in the labor market.
A private survey showed on Wednesday that businesses across the
country added 147,000 workers in October, the smallest increase
since May. However, the September total was revised up to 202,000
from 154,000.
Write to Sam Goldfarb at sam.goldfarb@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 02, 2016 14:49 ET (18:49 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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