Markets

Fitch Ratings affirmed the city's AA-plus GO rating while bumping the outlook on certificates of participation sold for its city courthouse.

Yields have "risen substantially over the last week as the market seeks to find at least a minor level of balance or equilibrium," said Tom Kozlik, managing director and head of public policy and municipal strategy at HilltopSecurities.

Data for the second quarter show the face amount of munis outstanding rose 0.4% quarter-over-quarter, or $15.5 billion, to $4.043 trillion.

The district plans an aggressive capital program in the next few years to meet rising demand and transition away from coal-fired plants.

"People are just kind of sitting on their hands and being careful because MMD is raising yields every day and people don't know which way this is heading," said John Farawell of Roosevelt & Cross.

The rating agency removed the negative outlook it had assigned after the community college district's accreditation was threatened.

The Texas Water Development Board leads the new-issue calendar with $1 billion of revenue bonds.

The long-time high-yield muni manager left Nuveen in April when the firm settled a contentious lawsuit with Preston Hollow.

The MAMBA Act would modernize IRS rules affecting private activity bonds.

The general bias toward muni rates is that they would be a bit higher with technicals "being a little less supportive than they were in August, plus what we heard with from the Fed 'higher for longer,' and potentially another hike," said Jeff MacDonald, head of Fixed Income Strategies at Fiduciary Trust International.