U.S. government debt prices were slightly higher Wednesday morning as investors monitored economic data and further testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
At around 4:25 a.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was fractionally lower at 0.6626% and the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond slipped to 1.4090%. Yields move inversely to prices.
Wall Street snapped a multi-day losing streak on Tuesday, with all major indices closing in positive territory after a bounce for recently beleaguered tech stocks drove some risk-on sentiment.
Focus Wednesday will shift to September’s Markit Flash PMI (purchasing managers’ index) readings, released at 9:45 a.m. ET, for indications as to the pace of economic recovery. Powell testifies before Congress at 10 a.m. ET.
In testimony before the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said they were exploring more ways to extend aid to shore up small businesses amid the coronavirus-induced recession, but practical details for how this might be delivered were scarce.
The House of Representatives passed a stopgap federal funding bill on Tuesday, with Democrats and Republicans agreeing on a deal on farming aid and nutritional help for children, that will keep the federal government operating through Dec. 11.
The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus pandemic topped 200,000 on Tuesday with cases nearing 6.9 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Wisconsin declared a public health emergency on Tuesday and extended its mask mandate through November to combat a spike in cases in the state.
Auctions will be held Wednesday for $25 billion of 105-day Treasury bills, $30 billion of 154-day bills, $53 billion of 5-year notes and $22 billion of 2-year FRNs (floating-rate notes).
