Market Post: Munis Steady as Momentum Slows

The tax-exempt market traded steady Monday afternoon after losing the morning session's momentum.

"It's Monday so there isn't anything to trade off of," a Chicago trader said. "So everything is flat. It's a typical Monday with no supply."

He added, with a limited amount of supply, there is no selling pressure. "The market is very thin. There are no bonds around."

While this week's supply is still relatively small compared to what the market saw in the weeks at the end of 2012, there are a few large deals expected to come to market in the next few weeks. "There are a few larger deals in the works that are under the radar," this trader said "And if I know of about one or two deals, there are probably ten."

In the primary market, Bank of America Merrill Lynch is expected to price for retail $343.2 million of tax-exempt and taxable bonds for the Louisiana Stadium & Exposition District. Institutional pricing is expected Tuesday.

The deal consists of $297 million of tax-exempt securities and $46.2 million of taxable bonds.

On Friday, the Municipal Market Data scale ended steady to slightly higher. The 30-year yield fell three basis points to 2.77%. The two-year closed steady at 0.34% for the third trading session while the 10-year closed flat at 1.70% for the second session.

Treasuries pared most of the morning gains by afternoon trading. The two-year yield and the benchmark 10-year yield fell one basis point each to 0.25% and 1.86%, respectively. The 30-year was steady at 3.05%.

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