Finance

Munis saw small gains Thursday, continuing the slight turnaround in sentiment the market has seen this week, with muni yields seeing modest bumps each day, said Jeremy Holtz, a portfolio manager at Income Research + Management.

Wednesday saw the third consecutive day of falling muni yields, suggesting the market is recovering from last week's selloff. The market is well-positioned for "a strong snapback," according to James Pruskowski, managing director at Hennion & Walsh Asset Management.

Moody's assigned its first-ever rating to munis backed by bitcoin ahead of a deal in New Hampshire. 

The filing of a writ of mandamus with the state Supreme Court, comes a day after S&P revised its outlook on Otero County to negative.

Many investors are waiting to see if the pattern of falling yields continues, according to Chris Brigati, managing director and CIO at SWBC.

The new hires come as nationwide infrastructure needs keep growing and as several firms have left or scaled back their muni efforts.

This strength comes after another "challenging week" for the muni market, which continued to deal with ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty and somewhat heavy supply, said Daryl Clements, a muni portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein.

Bernardi Securities founder Edward Bernardi passed away peacefully on March 21 in his Lake Forest, Illinois, home. He was 95.

S&P cited the system's structural challenges, physical risk exposure and uncertainty about the system's overall financial and operational trajectory.

Three negative outlooks and choppy market conditions weren't ideal conditions for a massive $2.6 billion bond issuance, which was trimmed to $2.3 billion.

Ending a challenging week with ongoing geopolitical tensions and rising oil prices, muni yields were cut one to four basis points, depending on the scale.

Investors pulled $600 million from municipal bond mutual funds in the week ended Wednesday, according to LSEG.

"Rates, not fundamentals, continue to drive benchmark yields higher, leaving munis on track for their fourth-worst monthly performance in 15 years," said James Pruskowski, managing director at Hennion & Walsh.

"You would think global instability leads to flight for quality, but you also have the inflationary pressures that come with higher oil prices. I would say the inflationary pressures have been winning, and that's why you're seeing Treasury and muni rates move higher," said Keith Richard, head of public finance at Siebert Williams Shank.

"We are in interesting times as the market must now balance these robust technicals against a backdrop of geopolitical tension in the Middle East and the nomination of Kevin Warsh, whose hawkish reputation is already being weighed by participants," said Jason Wong, vice president of municipals at AmeriVet Securities.

Three rating agencies now have negative outlooks on New York City. 

Federal Reserve Gov. Stephen Miran said it is too early to judge how U.S. involvement in the war with Iran will affect inflation and monetary policy.

While it's unclear how long the war in the Middle East will drag on, once President Donald Trump announces an end to the war, things could change "on a dime," as happened with the tariff-induced volatility in April 2025, said Peter Block, managing director of credit strategy at Ramirez.

Findings from The Bond Buyer's 2026 Predictions report predict funding crises in these market sectors will be a top worry for municipal finance pros.

"Looking at where oil was and the potential for disruption, and this being tax season and issuers having to pull deals, there's no reason why yields wouldn't have been higher," said Matt Fabian, president of Municipal Market Analytics.