U.S. Treasury yields dipped slightly on Wednesday after the market made a comeback from last week’s market rout on fears of the omicron Covid variant and a possibly faster-than-expected taper of the Federal Reserve’s bond buying program.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 1 basis point to 1.473%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell by just under a basis point to 1.791%. Yields move inversely to prices and 1 basis point is equal to 0.01%.
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said Wednesday morning that their booster dose provides similar protection against the omicron variant of Covid-19 as two doses did against the older strain, citing their own preliminary lab tests. They also said two doses could still protect against severe disease.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on Tuesday that although the omicron variant appears to be milder than previous strains of Covid-19, it also seems to spread faster and could result in more mutations in the future.
Meanwhile, in a small preliminary study released Tuesday, South African scientists said that the omicron variant significantly reduced the antibody protection offered by the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine. However, they also said that those who have recovered from the virus and received a booster shot are likely to have more protection from severe disease.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is due to release October’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect that there were 10.6 million open positions in October, up from 10.4 million in September.
An auction is scheduled to be held on Wednesday for $36 billion of 10-year notes.
— CNBC’s Spencer Kimball and Maggie Fitzgerald contributed to this market report.
