NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Treasury prices climbed on Thursday, following sharp price gains in the prior two sessions as panicked investors scrambled for the perceived safety of U.S. government bonds.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note 10_YEAR, -3.13% yield, which falls as prices rise, was down a basis point on the day at 2.083%, though it hit an intraday low of 1.978% in morning trade, according to Tradeweb.
The yield had briefly dipped as low as 1.865% on Wednesday as investors fled stocks, junk bonds, and other risky assets amid fears over slowing global growth. The violent shift toward haven government debt has reinforced itself over the past month.
“While seeking to pick a bottom is a futile proposition, it seems the only way the current negative feedback loop can be broken is for investors to begin a sorting out process in identifying superior vs. inferior assets,” said Adrian Miller, director fixed-income strategy at GMP Securities, LLC, in a note.
Here’s what else is guiding the market on Thursday:
Investors pulled out of riskier European government debt, pushing the 10-year Italian bond TMBMKIT-10Y, +7.29% yield up 24 basis points to 2.638% and the 10-year Spanish bond yield up 17 basis points to 2.266%.
German bond yields briefly dropped as low as 0.718% on the 10-year note DE10YT, +2.22% , but swung higher by 1.5 basis points to trade at 0.783%.
The number of people applying for U.S. unemployment benefits last week dropped to its lowest level in 14 years.
Industrial production had a stronger-than-expected 1% jump last month.
Other data due out at 10 a.m. Eastern includes the Philadelphia Fed index and the home builders’ index. See the full economic calendar here.
The 30-year bond 30_YEAR, -2.12% yield fell 1.5 basis points to 2.862% and the 5-year note 5_YEAR, -3.40% yield was unchanged at 1.312%.
