Treasurys Ease as Investors Adjust Portfolios; South Korean Bonds Show More Improvement
NEW YORK -- U.S. Treasurys posted modest losses yesterday as investors made some last-minute portfolio adjustments before the end of the year.</br></br>Elsewhere in trading, South Korean bonds continued to improve, as U.S. banks appear poised to roll over short-term Korean debt obligations and as some fund managers bought Korean debt issues.</br></br>Late yesterday, the benchmark 30-year U.S. Treasury bond was off 9/32 point, or $2.81 for a bond with $1,000 face value, at 102 24/32. Its yield rose to 5.92% from 5.90% at Friday's market close, as bond yields move the opposite way as prices.</br></br>The day's declines took place on low volume and were driven by year-end portfolio adjustment, not a significant change in market sentiment, traders said. Illiquid conditions exaggerated price movements in the bond market, some added.</br></br>Also working against bonds, stock prices jumped, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending up 113.10 points.