BOND REPORT: Treasury Yields Inch Higher As Wall Street Awaits Senate Tax-bill Details

U.S. Treasury yields edged slightly higher on Thursday, but moves were muted, as investors awaited details on a tax plan by Senate Republicans later in the session, which could influence fixed-income investing.

What are yields doing?

The 10-year Treasury note yield inched up to 2.332%, compared with 2.325% late Wednesday in New York. The 2-year note yield rose to 1.658%, versus 1.645%, its highest yield since October 2008. The 30-year bond yield climbed to 2.810%, compared with 2.786%.

Bond prices and yields move in the opposite direction.

What's driving Treasurys?

Senate Republicans are expected to unveil a tax plan that diverges from that of House Republicans by not fully repealing the estate tax (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-claims-hed-be-big-loser-from-tax-plan-how-the-senates-bill-may-differ-from-houses-2017-11-08).

Treasury traders are worried that tax cuts could increase the deficit and result in a boost to new issuance, which would be bearish for bond prices, pushing yields higher.

According to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office, the tax bill written by House Republicans would boost the U.S. deficit by $300 billion more (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cbo-says-tax-bill-would-increase-deficit-by-17-trillion-2017-11-08) than lawmakers estimated. Over a decade, it would increase the deficit by $1.7 billion, beyond the $1.5 trillion required to meet Senate rules under the recently passed budget, the CBO said.

However, according to some reports, the Senate's plan may not include a 20% excise tax on imports by multinational companies and could delay the implementation of corporate tax cuts until 2019 to shrink the estimated budget deficit.

Separately, Fed. Gov. Jerome Powell, who has been nominated by President Donald Trump to replace outgoing Janet Yellen as the head of the Federal Reserve, will have a confirmation hearing on Nov. 28.

What data are ahead?

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 09, 2017 08:26 ET (13:26 GMT)