US govt bonds close lower, market sees signs Fed may move to neutral stance
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NEW YORK, Mar 06, 2002 (AFX-Europe via COMTEX) -- US government bond prices closed lower, moving counter to a rallying stock market, following some positive economic data and comments from an FOMC voting member which were seen as a sign the Fed may shift to a neutral policy stance, dealers said.
The 5.375 pct 30-year bond closed down 21/32 to 97-21/32, yielding 5.538 pct, while the bellwether US 10-year bond was down 9/32 at 98-21/32 yielding 5.046 pct. The two-year note was flat at 99-17/32, yielding 3.233 pct.
Bond prices were down in the morning and briefly extended their losses mid-afternoon after the Federal Reserve's February beige book said the economy is showing "some signs of improvement in economic activity".
Six of the 12 Fed district banks reported signs of a pickup, the survey found.
Earlier, the government reported January factory orders for manufactured goods rose 1.6 pct from the previous month, slightly above expectations.
"We've been trading defensively all day long," said Michael Ryan, senior fixed-income strategist at UBS Painewebber. "The data were slightly above expectations which is pretty much the trend we've had all week long. That plus the equity markets was enough to break down another support level for the bond market." |
