Jessica Lerner

The Aquarion deal is joined this week by two other sizable deals: the New York State Thruway Authority's $2.444 billion state personal income tax revenue bonds, and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority's $1.06 billion turnpike revenue bonds in two deals.

Many local governments face budget issues, including two of the largest cities by population, New York City and Chicago, both of which saw negative rating action during the first half of the year, per Breckinridge strategists.

Robust demand is one of several drivers supporting the muni market even in the wake of ongoing uncertainty around economic growth, inflation and interest rates, said Daryl Clements, a portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein.

A big story this year has been demand, which is supporting the market, said Tom Kozlik, head of public policy and municipal strategy at HilltopSecurities.

Right now, rates can't get any traction due to "Iran re-escalating, hawkish Fed minutes, Treasury auctions [and] AI bond supply crowding credit," among other factors, said James Pruskowski, managing director at Hennion & Walsh.

Resuming the war with Iran has renewed volatility for munis and Treasuries.

Financial markets have embraced prediction markets as a mainstream crowdsourced provider of real-time probability signals and risk-hedging tools.

Declining tender activity stems largely from higher interest rates, and a higher-for-longer interest rate environment is expected to "keep a lid" on any tender resurrection, said Jeff Lipton, market intelligence analyst at Bond Buyer.

Deals that offer some value and spread opportunities will be well-received, while those that are less attractive or higher quality might face some challenges in certain parts of the curve, said Jeff Timlin, managing partner and head of municipal bond investing at Sage Advisory.

Next payments are due July 14 and 15.

Municipal issuers sold $299.293 billion of bonds in the first half of 2026, up 5.2% year-over-year, according to LSEG data.

Issuance falls to an estimated $5.055 billion this week, lighter due to the holiday, and it's possible some deals will come on Monday.

Thursday was quiet in the muni market as many deals — which did pretty well upon pricing or selling — came to market earlier in the week, said Ron Banaszek, co-head of public finance and lead underwriter at Blaylock Van.

There are a lot of "great technology solutions" out there, said Dan Silva, CEO and cofounder of Adaje.

While technology has lowered entry minimums, making it more accessible to all types of investors, the client base for SMAs primarily consists of high-net-worth individuals.

The market outlook is mixed, according to Barclays strategists.

The FOMC's hawkish tone hasn't cost munis yet, but the reaction from USTs may bring pressure, according to NewSquare Capital's Kim Olsan.

The tobacco sector has been among the worst-performing in the muni market this year, but some say it's still overvalued.

Some shops have opted to build their own pricing systems, which provide customization and competitive advantages, although they carry hidden costs. Others have decided to buy to save time, upfront costs and get best built-in practices.

J.P. Morgan is ranked second among underwriters, accounting for $27.182 billion in par on 200 deals year-to-date, according to LSEG.