Still Waiting For an End to Unfriendly Trend

It was an uneventful Monday for the bond market.  Economic data was limited to the NAHB Housing Market Index (builder confidence)–a report that hasn’t been a market mover since the financial crisis.  And none of the news headlines had an obvious impact on trading levels. Yields started out a bit higher compared to Friday but they began improving almost immediately after the start of the U.S. business day.  Based on the timing of today’s ebbs and flows, European markets were likely a consideration.  Despite the modest gains, bonds remain in the middle of a well-defined uptrend in yields/rates. Until we see a big rally driven by top tier data, the best we could hope for would be for that trend to die of old age.

Market Movement Recap

09:04 AM Weaker start, but pushing back toward unchanged.  MBS down 1 tick (.03) and 10yr up less than half a bp at 4.442.

02:23 PM Decent gains into mid-day hours.  10yr down 2.4bps at 4.416.  MBS up 2 ticks (.06).

03:50 PM Flat afternoon.  MBS near unchanged, up  1 tick (0.03).  10yr down 2.2bps at 4.419