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U.S. Treasury yields fell Thursday, extending their week long drop, as growing concerns about the coronavirus epidemic and the prospect for the World Health Organization to declare it a global emergency kept haven assets in demand.
What are Treasurys doing?
The 10-year Treasury note yield TMUBMUSD10Y, -0.60% was down 2.9 basis points to 1.565%, around its lowest since Oct.9. The benchmark bond is down more than 12 basis points this week.
The 2-year note rate TMUBMUSD02Y, -1.40% retreated 2 basis points to 1.399%, while the 30-year bond yield TMUBMUSD30Y, +0.41% was down 2.2 basis points to 2.028%.
What’s driving Treasurys?
Bonds rallied amid growing uncertainty over the eventual economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, amid reports of a spiraling number of cases and deaths attributed to the illness. The WHO is meeting on Thursday to decide whether to declare the virus as a global health emergency, after it declined to make such an announcement last week.
Global stock-markets took a hit as European and Asian equity bourses tumbled lower on Thursday. Futures for the S&P 500 ESH20, -0.68% and the Dow Jones industrial Average YMH20, -0.65% are pointing to losses for the U.S. market at the opening bell.
The fourth-quarter estimate of gross domestic product is due at 8:30 a.m. ET, drawing the attention of more data-focused traders. MarketWatch polled analysts forecast, on average, growth to increase by 1.8% in the last three months of 2019.
Investors will also see a snapshot of the labor market’s health, with weekly jobless claims for the seven-day period ending in Jan. 25 due also at the same time.
See: Coronavirus is less deadly than SARS — but that may explain why it’s so contagious
What did market participants’ say?
“Today, the WHO (World Health Organization) Emergency Committee will gather again to decide whether the fast-spreading virus has become a global emergency. Last time, they said that it was too early to say something like that, but the chances of ringing alarm bells worldwide this time is much higher in our view. If this is the case, investors may continue diverting flows from risk assets to safe havens,” said Charalambos Pissouros, senior market analyst at JFD Group.
