2018.11.2016:04:00UTC+00Treasuries Show Slight Move To The Upside

Treasuries extended a recent upward move during trading on Tuesday, although buying interest was relatively subdued.

Bond prices gave back ground after an initial move to the upside but still managed to close slightly positive. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by nearly a basis point to 3.048 percent.

With the slight decrease on the day, the ten-year yield ended the session at its lowest closing level in two months.

The modest strength among treasuries came as stocks on Wall Street extended the sell-off seen in the previous session.

Concerns about the economic outlook contributed to the continued weakness among stocks along with a negative reaction to earnings news from big-name companies such as Target (TGT).

On the U.S. economic front, a report from the Commerce Department showed housing starts rebounded in the month of October, although the report also showed a decrease in building permits.

The Commerce Department said housing starts jumped by 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.228 million in October after plunging by 5.5 percent to a revised rate of 1.210 million in September.

Economists had expected housing starts to climb to a rate of 1.225 million from the 1.201 million originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the report said building permits fell by 0.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.263 million in October after surging up by 1.7 percent to an upwardly revised 1.270 million in September.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to increase to 1.267 million from the 1.241 million originally reported for the previous month.

Trading on Wednesday may be impacted by reaction to a slew of U.S. economic data, including reports on durable goods orders, weekly jobless claims, and existing home sales.