Taylor Riggs

The municipal bond market opened the week with attention on primary deals, as Hawaii and Massachusetts priced more than $1.4 billion for retail investors.The secondary market took a back seat with benchmark scales ending mostly flat from Friday’s prices.

Secondary trading in the tax-exempt market was quiet Monday afternoon as traders looked to the primary for direction with three of the week's largest issues pricing for retail investors.

Trading volume of Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corp. rose Monday morning following last week's investor call by the commonwealth discussing COFINA's legal opinions.

The municipal bond market firmed in nearly every session this week, pushing the 10-year Municipal Market Data yield to its lowest in over four months, on light supply and slowing outflows from municipal bond funds.

The municipal bond market weakened Friday, following Treasuries, after eight days of steady to stronger gains that pushed yields lower by nearly 20 basis points.

Activity in the tax-exempt market was higher than a typically quiet Friday as next week's largest deal held a retail order period and munis traded weaker after a 20 basis point drop in yields over the last eight sessions.

The municipal bond market received a boost from Nov. 1 reinvestment money from maturing bonds and coupon payments that helped spur activity in the secondary market Friday morning.

The tax-exempt market finished on a quiet note Thursday after a seven day rally pushed yields lower by nearly 20 basis points.

The tax-exempt market waited for a conference call from Puerto Rico officials discussing "legal opinions" related to issuance of its sales tax financing bonds as the general market saw little issuance in the primary light secondary trading.

The tax-exempt market took a breather Thursday morning, trading mostly flat after seven straight days of firming that pushed bond prices higher and yields lower by double digits.

The tax-exempt market ended as much as five basis points stronger on Wednesday as Puerto Rico rallied and demand for primary issuance pushed the secondary market firmer. The Federal Reserve said it will continue to pump money into the economy by continuing its $85 billion a month bond purchasing program.

The tax-exempt market posted gains Wednesday afternoon on positive reception from new deals in the primary and stronger Puerto Rico bonds over the past few weeks that gave traders some relief.

Stronger trading in the secondary market pushed municipals higher Wednesday morning following positive reception for newly priced deals this week.

The tax-exempt market strengthened for a sixth session Tuesday as the week’s largest deals were met with positive reception in the primary market and secondary bonds traded higher.

The tax-exempt market continued to firm as new issues were well received and bonds traded higher in the secondary market.

The municipal bond market turned its attention to the week's largest deals pricing in the primary market, as issuers looked to take advantage of a six-day rally in bond prices.

The tax-exempt market extended gains into a fifth consecutive session Monday, led by strong trading activity in lower-rated credits like California general obligation bonds and tobacco debt.

Higher-yielding credits in the municipal bond market traded more actively than high-grade bonds after last week's rally left buyers searching for yield in lower-rated credits.

Faced with lighter supply this week in the primary market, municipal bond trading opened on a slow note Monday morning, with few bid lists surfacing.

The tax-exempt market rallied as much as two basis points Friday extending a double-digit rally that began earlier in the week as new issues were well received and Puerto Rico debt traded higher in the secondary market.