US Treasurys hold higher after Trump news conference, 10-year sale
U.S. government debt prices fell on Wednesday as investors digested Donald Trump's remarks at his first press conference as president-elect, as well as new supply.
The benchmark 10-year note yield traded lower following the sale, around 2.358 percent. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also lower, at 2.951 percent.
During the conference, Trump said he thinks Russia is responsible for election-related hacking, but he also pointed to cyberattacks by other groups and declined to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I think it was Russia, but I think we also get hacked by other people," he told reporters.
That said, he did not give details on some of his economic policies, particularly deregulation, lower corporate taxes and fiscal stimulus.
"When you look back about two months ago, ... the equities market has rallied so much while the bonds market has sold off. I think we're going to see a breather until we get more details" about Trump's policies, said Ninh Chung, head of investment strategy and portfolio management at Silicon Valley Bank.
Treasurys
| TICKER | COMPANY | YIELD | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| US1M | U.S. 1 Month Treasury | 5.37% | +0.009 |
| US3M | U.S. 3 Month Treasury | 5.396% | UNCH |
| US6M | U.S. 6 Month Treasury | 5.392% | +0.002 |
| US1Y | U.S. 1 Year Treasury | 5.217% | +0.014 |
| US2Y | U.S. 2 Year Treasury | 4.95% | +0.017 |
| US10Y | U.S. 10 Year Treasury | 4.467% | -0.008 |
| US30Y | U.S. 30 Year Treasury | 4.571% | -0.009 |
Adding to the sharp rise in yields was the Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates last month. The central bank also said it expected to raise rates three times this year.
"This time, we'll follow the Fed. Obviously they're data dependent, but given the information we have, ... I three rate hikes are definitely in play," said Silicon Valley Bank's Chung.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, the Treasury Department auctioned $20 billion in 10-year notes at a high yield of 2.342 percent on Wednesday. The bid-to-cover ratio, an indicator of demand, was 2.58.
Indirect bidders, which include major central banks, were awarded 70.5 percent. Direct bidders, which includes domestic money managers, bought 8.7 percent.
"After a pretty good 3 yr note auction yesterday, today's benchmark 10 yr auction was excellent," Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group, said in a note to clients. "Also of note and reflecting strength in the auction was that direct and indirect bidders took a combined 79% of the auction vs the one year average of 73%."
In oil markets, oil prices were supported by news that Saudi Arabia plans to cut supply to Asia, however, the lack of detail about the reductions capped gains.
Brent crude traded at around $55.33 a barrel on Wednesday, up 3.15 percent, while U.S. crude was around $52.48 a barrel, up 3.25 percent.
—CNBC's Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report.