DJ Debt Futures Review: Sells Off Along With Oil; Stops Triggered
By Allen Sykora
BEND, Ore. (Dow Jones)--A sharp plunge in crude-oil prices resulted in a
steep sell-off for interest-rate futures Wednesday on a day when the market
had otherwise shown little reaction to the economic data, analysts said.
The selling in debt products was exacerbated when prices fell through
some key chart levels that triggered stops, contacts reported.
"Overall, it was a very negative day and it was a sign of what could
come for the rest of the week," said Craig Ross, president of ApexFutures.com
in Chicago. "But we preface anything we say by saying 'Watch the crude oil.'
That seems to be what we are keying off of.
"If the top is in on the crude, we're going to say the top is in on the
bonds."
Dec 10-year notes settled down 22.5 ticks to 113-03, Dec Treasury bonds
lost a full point plus 4 ticks to 113-02 and Jun Eurodollars slid 10 basis
points to 97.28.
During the morning, analysts had described fixed-income products as
largely consolidating while awaiting U.S. elections and non-farm payrolls
next week. But that changed abruptly as crude turned south.
"As oil sold off, we followed along," said Beth Malloy, bond-market
analyst in Chicago with Briefing.com. "We are nothing but a puppet of oil."
Dec crude tumbled $2.71 to $52.46, hurt by speculative profit taking
after a recent run-up to record levels.
Historically, higher oil prices have often been seen as bearish for bonds
due to the potential for inflation. But in recent times, oil has risen so
dramatically that it prompted ideas that it could have a taxing effect that
slows economic growth, which is bullish for bonds. Thus, pullbacks in oil are
now viewed as bond-bearish.
"Crude is really taking it on the chin," said Ross. "So the stock market
is rallying and bonds have been taking it on the chin."
Stronger equities often hurt bonds due to asset-reallocation flows from
fixed-income products into equities when the latter is performing better. The
Dow industrials were up by triple digits just ahead of their close.
Also bearish for debt futures, market watchers said, was a $24 billion
auction of two-year notes awarded at a rate of 2.59%. The bid-to-cover ratio,
an indication of demand, was 1.93.
Some of the selling in bonds and notes was in the form of profit taking,
reported both Ross and Malloy. Traders had been chasing the long side of the
market lately, sending Dec bonds and 10-years to life-of-contract highs on
Monday.
"We've had a great run-up this month," said Ross. "Now that we've had a
great month and we have a good reason to go down - with the stock market up
and some technical numbers getting taken out - you're seeing a lot of guys
taking the money and running. That is making the situation even worse."
The selling in the Dec bonds accelerated when they fell through the area
from 113-21 to 113-15, said Ross. This was a gap on a chart for pit trade
only left between the Oct. 19 high and the Oct. 20 low.
Dec bonds fell as far as 112-31 in electronic trade. The next major
support may not occur until around 112-18 to 112-13, Ross said.
Stops were triggered in the Dec 10-year notes when they fell through the
Oct. 22 low of 113-11, said Ross. They bottomed at 113-01. Ross put the next
support around 112-26.5 to 112-25.
It appeared the stop-loss selling was not as dramatic in the
Eurodollars, said Ross. The Jun futures did fall through support around
97.30 to 97.29, dipping as far as 97.26.
As for economic data, durable-goods orders rose 0.2% in September, below
the consensus forecast of a 0.6% rise. However, orders for non-defense
capital goods excluding aircraft - often seen as a barometer of business
spending - rose a healthy 2.6%.
New-home sales rose 3.5% to an annualized rate of 1.206 million.
Expectations had been for a decline to around 1.15 million.
The Federal Reserve's Beige Book showed that four Fed districts reported
slower economic growth in September and early October, five cited continued
expansion, two reported faster growth, and one said activity was mixed.
The lone report on the calendar for Thursday is first-time jobless claims
at 0730 CT (1230 GMT). The forecast is for around 338,000 claims, which would
be up from 329,000 in the prior reporting period.
-By Allen Sykora; Dow Jones Newswires; 541-318-8765;
[email protected]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires