Finance

"There are a lot of moving parts here with the potential to either help or hinder the Fed's quest for price stability and maximum employment" this year, noted BMO Deputy Chief Economist Michael Gregory, who says the Fed will "stand pat."

Tech stocks suffered on "worries that Beijing is becoming increasingly competitive in the high-stakes artificial intelligence race," said José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers.

The Massachusetts Clean Water Trust has seen higher demand from local utilities for loans because of climate change threats and clean water regulations. 

Kroll Bond Rating Agency downgraded Chicago's general obligation bonds to A-minus from A, citing high fixed costs and one-time fixes. The outlook is negative.

Issuance for next week falls to an estimated $5.151 billion, with $3.959 billion of negotiated deals and $1.193 billion of competitive deals on tap.

Investors added $2.028 billion to municipal bond mutual funds in the week ending Wednesday, following $251.7 million of outflows the prior week, according to LSEG Lipper data.

Issuance was led by a $2 billion retail pricing from the University of California in the negotiated market and a $1.2 billion competitive deal from Washington.

Broker-dealer Siebert Williams Shank's foundation donated $100,000 to two organizations aiding Los Angeles-area residents affected by the wildfires.

Underperforming since the calendar turned, "munis have continued to cheapen over the past three weeks as Treasury returns are about flat for the year while munis are down 0.31%," said Jason Wong, vice president of municipals at AmeriVet Securities.

The Los Angeles-area wildfires have sparked a negative rating watch for several credits from Fitch Ratings.