Finance

Muni yields increased "in sympathy with the Treasury market," according to Charles Schwab's Cooper Howard.

Fitch, Moody's, and S&P were sent a letter from 23 GOP state attorneys general over the use of ESG factors related to fossil fuel in negative rating actions.

All sectors of the muni market posted gains in April, Kim Olsan wrote, exemplifying the market's better-than-expected resilience.

Fitch Ratings on Monday echoed a prior move by Moody's Ratings to revise the state's outlook to negative.

"What the market's really trying to figure out is what that Warsh regime is going to mean," said Tom Kozlik of HilltopSecurities. "Folks are really trying to position their mindsets, position their portfolios."

"Investors typically start positioning for heavy summer redemptions in summer, so the market typically performs well enough through the first half of June and we do not believe that this year will be any different," Barclays strategists said.

Jay Leno, longtime comedian, TV host and car enthusiast, promoted an upcoming municipal bond deal in a video for Hollywood Burbank Airport.

It was another "topsy-turvy day" for munis, said Kim Olsan, senior fixed income portfolio manager at NewSquare Capital. Munis have been weaker on the front end for a few days, leading to a slight inversion of the curve, starting around the 2028 maturities, Olsan said.

The state Supreme Court's ruling comes in a case that targeted the 2022 issuance of nearly $687 million of ratepayer-backed bonds for a utility company.

Moody's Ratings announced a stable rating outlook for Washington, D.C., good news for a city reeling from federal job cuts and gearing up for a mayoral race.

Mohammed Murad, head of credit research for PT Asset Management, said the ceasefire extension "possibly offers less clues as to what a permanent resolution may look like."

It's difficult to tell whether the markets were more affected by spiking oil prices, eroding peace talks between the United States and Iran, or Kevin Warsh's hawkish comments during his confirmation hearing to chair the Federal Reserve, said James Pruskowski, managing director at Hennion & Walsh.

The Texas city's latest projection for the onset of a Level 1 emergency comes as water woes spurred rating downgrades and negative outlooks since last fall.

Market support for taxables, particularly those from active issuers, remains firm. Taxables are seeing gains of 1.08% year-to-date, or 50 basis points above a UST index gain, said Kim Olsan, senior fixed income portfolio manager at NewSquare Capital.

The market is experiencing a "calm before a potential storm," said Chris Brigati, managing director and CIO at SWBC.

Two rating agencies dropped their Los Angeles Unified School District outlook to negative from stable.

"Ceasefire optimism augmented by a liquidity-driven risk-on macro market environment should be neutral for duration and positive for credit spreads," BofA analysts wrote.

The two-week ceasefire with Iran comes to an end Wednesday, though President Donald Trump said Thursday at an event in Las Vegas the war should be ending soon.

The rating agency's previous review of the Texas city resulted in downgrades in December over increased credit risk due to water supply woes.

News of a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon may have reassured investors, said James Pruskowski, managing director at Hennion & Walsh, but it didn't cause munis to richen.