The municipal market was mostly unchanged yesterday in light secondary trading, as Maryland postponed over $600 million of its planned $803 million issuance for tomorrow, and few of the week’s larger new issues arrived in the primary.
Maryland announced that it has postponed its slated $603 million sale of tax-exempt refunding debt, scheduled to come to market tomorrow as part of its $803 million competitive transaction. This was to be the largest deal in the state’s history. However, due to market conditions, the refunding component has been eliminated, though the remaining $200 million of new money is still slated to be issued.
In the new-issue market yesterday, JPMorgan priced for retail investors $366.3 million of Dormitory Authority of the State of New York revenue bonds for Mount Sinai School of Medicine ahead of institutional pricing today. The bonds mature from 2016 through 2029, with term bonds in 2034 and 2039.
Yields range from 3.91% with a 4% coupon in 2016 to 5.25% priced at par in 2034. Bonds maturing in 2039 were not offered during the retail order period. The bonds, which are callable at par in 2019, are rated A3 by Moody’s Investors Service and A-minus by Standard & Poor’s.
JPMorgan also priced $238.2 million of airport system revenue bonds for Denver in two series, including $65.5 million of taxable Build America Bonds. The BABs mature in 2039, but pricing information on the BAB portion was not available by press time. Bonds from the $172.7 million tax-exempt series mature in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, and from 2026 through 2029, with term bonds in 2032 and 2036.
Yields range from 1.97% with a 5% coupon in 2012 to 5.10% with a 5.25% coupon in 2036. The bonds are callable at par in 2019. The credit is rated A1 by Moody’s and A-plus by Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings.
Traders said tax-exempt yields in the secondary market were flat.
“It seems pretty much unchanged,” a trader in New York said. “I’m not seeing a lot going on at levels that are materially different. I’m not getting any data from hosts, from brokers, or activity on my own stuff. It’s a big underwriting week, so I’m not sure the secondary is where the excitement is going to be.”
“Not much to report from a secondary perspective,” a trader in Los Angeles said. “It was pretty quiet out there, and fairly unchanged. People are looking at the primary now at this point, and there isn’t much movement in the secondary.”
The Treasury market showed gains yesterday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note, which opened at 3.39%, finished at 3.34%. The yield on the two-year note finished at 0.93% after opening at 0.95%. The yield on the 30-year bond, which opened at 4.20%, finished at 4.16%.
Yesterday’s Municipal Market Data triple-A scale yielded 3.05% in 10 years and 3.73% in 20 years, even with the those same levels of 3.05% and 3.73%, respectively, Monday. The scale yielded 4.08% in 30 years yesterday, matching Monday’s level of 4.08%.
As of Monday’s close, the triple-A muni scale in 10 years was at 90.0% of comparable Treasuries, according to MMD, and 30-year munis were 96.9% of comparable Treasuries. Thirty-year tax-exempt triple-A rated general obligation bonds were at 99.0% of the comparable London Interbank Offered Rate.
Elsewhere in the new-issue market yesterday, Morgan Stanley priced $112.3 million of state transportation refunding revenue bonds for the New Mexico Finance Authority.
The bonds mature from 2010 through 2017, with yields ranging from 0.80% with a 5% coupon in 2011 to 3.02% with a 4% coupon in 2017. Bonds maturing in 2010 were decided via sealed bid. The bonds, which are not callable, are rated Aa2 by Moody’s and AA-plus by Standard & Poor’s.
Merrill, Lynch & Co. priced $100 million of hospital facilities revenue bonds for Greene County, Ohio. The bonds mature in 2023, 2024, 2027, 2029, 2031, 2034, and 2039. Yields range from 5.05% with a 5% coupon in 2023 to 5.625% with a 5.5% coupon in 2039. The bonds, which are callable at par in 2019, are rated A2 by Moody’s and A by Standard & Poor’s.
Morgan Keegan & Co. priced $97.2 million of sales-tax appropriation refunding bonds for the Bi-State Development Agency of the Missouri-Illinois Metropolitan District. The bonds mature from 2023 through 2032, with term bonds in 2035 and 2039.
Yields range from 4.50% priced at par in 2023 to 5.00% priced at par in 2039. The bonds, which are callable at par in 2019, are insured by Assured Guaranty Corp. The underlying credit is rated A2 by Moody’s and AA-minus by Standard & Poor’s.
In economic data released yesterday, the producer price index for finished goods unexpectedly fell in September dropping 0.6% as energy prices slumped. Core prices decreased 0.1% for the month, the third core price decline this year. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected no change in total producer prices and for core prices to inch up by 0.1%.
