Treasurys rebounded Wednesday, pulling down yields, with buyers seeking safety as stocks came under renewed pressure ahead of the first of two days of congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
What yields are doing
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, 3.216% was at 3.222%, down from 3.304% at 3 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday.
- The 2-year Treasury note yield TMUBMUSD02Y, 3.110% fell to 3.128% from 3.196% Tuesday afternoon.
- The 30-year Treasury bond yield TMUBMUSD30Y, 3.289% dropped to 3.302% versus 3.388% late Tuesday.
What’s driving the market
Treasury yields have risen sharply in 2022 in response to surging and persistent U.S. inflation, which has prompted the Fed to raise its benchmark interest rate quickly. The Fed last week hiked the Fed funds rate by 75 basis points, or three-quarter of a percentage point — its largest rise since 1994 — after a half-point hike in May and a quarter-point rise in March. The Fed has also started shrinking its balance sheet.
The Fed’s moves have stoked recession fears.
Powell will deliver semiannual testimony on monetary policy before the Senate Banking Committee Wednesday morning and appear before a House panel on Thursday.
Meanwhile, stock-index futures indicated Wall Street was set to give back a big chunk of its Tuesday rally. Skeptical analysts described Tuesday’s gains as likely to be a bear-market bounce, with equities likely to continue grinding lower until the Fed signals it’s near the end of its tightening cycle and the economic outlook appears more clear.
What analysts say
“The daily agenda is almost completely focused on the first part of the semiannual testimony Fed Chair Jerome Powell will deliver before the U.S. Congress. We doubt, however, that he will depart from the tones used during the FOMC press conference last week,” said economists at UniCredit Bank, in a note.
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