Treasurys Are Mixed as Shorter Issues Attract Buyers and 30-Year Falls Ahead of Jobs Data
NEW YORK -- Treasurys ended mixed as the market largely ignored signs of continued strength in manufacturing and instead looked ahead to tomorrow's monthly update on labor-market growth.</br></br>The 30-year Treasury bond fell 9/32 point, or $2.8125 for a bond with $1,000 face value, to 101 6/32. Its yield rose to 6.153% from 6.133% late Tuesday, as bond yields move inversely to prices. But shorter maturities ended higher. Prices of 10-year notes gained 6/32, for example.</br></br>The divergence stemmed from sales of 30-year bonds and purchases of other maturities -- so-called curve trades -- driven by wagers on how the market will be affected by the Treasury Department's planned buybacks of debt securities.</br></br>Dealers decided it was "the trade of the day," said Vinnie Verterano, director of government trading at Nomura Securities in New York.</br></br>Among economic reports during the session, the National Association of Purchasing Management's February business index -- a broad gauge of manufacturing-sector activity -- rose to 56.9 in February from 56.3 in January. A figure above 50 suggests an expansion of activity. An index in the NAPM report that tracks prices paid by manufacturers jumped to 74.1 from 72.6, indicating a substantial rise in price pressures during the month.