U.S. government debt prices were higher Wednesday morning as a sharp tech sell-off continues to roil equity markets and drive investors toward traditional safe-haven assets.
At around 1:50 a.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropped to 0.6690% and the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell to 1.4077%. Yields move inversely to prices.
The downturn has seen the world’s six biggest tech stocks — Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla and Facebook — lose more than $1 trillion in collective market value in the past three days. Having driven much of the equity market recovery, the sudden plunge has rippled through Wall Street and sent investors in search of cover.
AstraZeneca announced on Tuesday that it has halted a late-stage coronavirus vaccine trial due to safety concerns, which has exerted further downward pressure on investors’ hopes for an imminent economic recovery. Meanwhile, nine leading U.S. and European companies developing experimental vaccines have pledged to uphold scientific testing standards, voicing concerns about political pressure in the race to contain Covid-19.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that a scaled-back Republican coronavirus relief bill will be brought forward for a vote on Thursday, though the proposals will likely face opposition from congressional Democrats.
The U.S. Treasury will auction $35 billion of 10-year notes on Wednesday, along with $25 billion of 105-day bills and $30 billion of 154-day bills.
On the data front, JOLTs job openings for July will be published at 10 a.m. ET.
