U.S. Treasury yields slipped on Thursday, pushing prices higher, as a decline in stocks prompted investors to buy traditionally safer assets.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was lower around 2.84 percent, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell to 2.958 percent. The short-term two year note yield fell to 2.59 percent. Bond yields move inversely to prices.
Treasurys
Yields followed U.S. equities lower, as the major indexes all fell 0.4 percent. Stocks retreated after the release of some of the latest quarterly reports disappointed investors. The S&P 500 closed around its highest level since February on Tuesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its best close since June.
Investors also pored through key economic data on Thursday. Weekly jobless claims fell to 207,000, their lowest since 1969, according to the Labor Department. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve also said that its business conditions index jumped to 25.7 in July from 19.9 last month.
Investors have also been keeping an eye on the spread between the two-year and the 10-year yield. The spread hovered around 25 basis points, near its lowest in about a decade. A flattening yield curve is a sign of economic trouble ahead. An inverted yield curve — when the short end of the curve is higher than the long end — signals recession.