Finance

The asset class extended its selloff last week as concerns regarding the tax-exempt status of munis continued to mount, combined with a heavy new-issue calendar and tax season selling by investors, said Jason Wong, vice president of municipals at AmeriVet Securities.

Notable deals include a $600 million refunding deal by the New York City Municipal Water Authority and almost $400 million from Rochester, Minnesota.

Issuance for the week of March 31 is at $9.29 billion, with $8.011 billion of negotiated deals and $1.28 billion of competitive deals on tap.

California plans to price $2.5 billion in new money and refunding general obligation bonds next week, with retail orders Tuesday and final pricing Wednesday.

Following Wednesday's selloff, muni yields were cut even further, with yields rising up to six basis points, depending on the scale. Meanwhile, UST yields rose two basis points out long.

The S&P issuer rating upgrade marks the second for Oklahoma since September when Moody's raised its rating a notch to Aa1.

"We're navigating a crosscurrent of macro risks — tariffs, tax policy proposals, DOGE cuts, and evolving economic data — layered on top of a broader risk-off tone," said James Pruskowski, CIO of 16Rock Asset Management.

What's happening to the muni market is the "confluence of modest selling (via fund outflows and retail perhaps pausing during tax season); a heavy new issue calendar; and very thin near-term reinvestment expectations," said Matt Fabian, a partner at Municipal Market Analytics.

Colleges and universities have already begun hiring freezes and spending cuts, dialing back research and rescinding offers to Ph.D. candidates, the rating agency said.

Lighter supply, at an estimated $7.9 billion, and still-attractive valuations should allow for solid muni performance this week, said J.P. Morgan strategists.

An Oklahoma agency is borrowing $1.15 billion through an unrated tax-exempt Public Finance Authority bond deal to build and equip a tire factory backed by Finnish interests.

Municipal bond issuance for the week of March 24 is at $7.923 billion, with $6.673 billion of negotiated deals and $1.251 billion of competitive deals on tap.

The Los Angeles-based fund manager has expanded into debt financing to offer affordable housing developer clients a lower cost of capital.

Separately managed accounts have exploded in the muni market in recent years but high-yield SMAs remain rare.

The rating agency cited a tax cut package enacted by the state last year and uncertainty over federal policies for the outlook revision to stable from positive.

Most of Thursday's issuance came from competitive deals, the largest being the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York with $2 billion-plus and California with $889 billion.

Wednesday marked the first trading session that saw cuts more than a basis point or two in spots since last week's extended selloff.

"While there has been some reported buying by relative value institutions amid higher ratios from the muni-centric price correction, the market as a whole may not rally this week," said Matt Fabian, a partner at Municipal Market Analytics.

Municipals are little changed to start the week after last week's selloff, which saw muni yields cut up to 20 basis points out long.

March had been expected to be difficult due to a "combination of heavy supply, low redemptions, rate volatility, tax-related selling and now fund outflows," said Barclays strategists Mikhail Foux and Grace Cen.