Long-Term Treasurys Decline as Money Moves To Stocks, Corporate Bonds at Start of Short Week
NEW YORK -- The bond market got the holiday-shortened week off to a poor start, as investors moved money out of Treasurys and into stocks and corporate bonds.</br></br>Long-maturity Treasurys saw the biggest declines while shorter-dated issues registered only minimal losses.</br></br>In trading late yesterday, the price of the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond was down 22/32 point, or $6.875 for a bond with $1,000 face value, at 99 25/32. Its yield rose to 5.256% from 5.215% late Friday, as bond yields move in the opposite direction of prices.</br></br>Selling pressure on long-maturity Treasurys was compounded by the record high reached by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which closed up 214.72 points, at 9374.27 -- topping its closing of 9337.97 on July 17 and marking the first time in four months the industrial average has surpassed the 9300-point mark.</br></br>The continued heavy issuance of corporate bonds also drew money out of Treasurys. The most notable bond deal was pharmaceutical company Merck & Co.'s $500 million 30-year bond.