Top-quality municipal bonds were stronger in early activity, traders said.
Market participants will be looking to see a few deals come their way on Wednesday, with the bulk of the $3 billion new issue calendar set for sale on Thursday.
Secondary Market
The 10-year benchmark muni general obligation yield was as much as one basis point lower from 2.32% on Tuesday, while the yield on the 30-year GO was down as much as one basis point from 3.05%, according to a read of the 5% January maturities of Municipal Market Data's AAA scale.
U.S. Treasuries were weaker on Wednesday. The yield on the two-year Treasury rose to 1.24% from 1.22% on Friday, while the 10-year Treasury yield gained to 2.46% from 2.45%, and the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond increased to 3.06% from 3.05%.
The 10-year muni to Treasury ratio was calculated at 94.6% on Tuesday compared with 94.6% on Friday, while the 30-year muni to Treasury ratio stood at 99.3%, versus 100.0%, according to MMD.
MSRB: Previous Session's Activity
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board reported 42,309 trades on Tuesday on volume of $12.40 billion.
Primary Market
The market will remain pretty subdued on Wednesday, with only one major deal slated for sale. Action gets underway in earnest on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Piper Jaffray is expected to price the Ysleta Independent School District, Texas' $171.38 million of unlimited tax school building general obligation bonds. The deal is rated triple-A by Moody's Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings.
On Thursday, Barclays Capital is set to price the Board of Regents of the Texas State University System's $570.83 million of Series 2017A revenue financing system revenue and refunding bonds. The deal is rated Aa2 by Moody's and AA by Fitch Ratings.
JPMorgan Securities is expected to price the Board of Regents of the University of North Texas' $214.92 million of Series 2017A revenue financing system refunding and improvement bonds on Thursday. The deal is rated Aa2 by Moody's and AA by Fitch.
Barclays is set to price the Board of Regents of the University of North Texas' $164.99 million of Series 2017B taxable revenue financing and improvement bonds on Thursday. The deal is rated Aa2 by Moody's and AA by Fitch.
Wells Fargo Securities is expected to price the University of Pittsburgh, Pa.'s $525 million of Series 2017A taxable university refunding bonds on Thursday. The deal is rated Aa1 by Moody's and AA-plus by S&P Global Ratings.
Wells Fargo is also set to price the District of Columbia's $311.52 million of Series 2017 refunding revenue bonds for Georgetown University on Thursday. The deal is rated A2 by Moody's and A by S&P.
Since 2007, the District of Columbia has sold roughly $14.89 billion of securities, with the largest issuance occurring in 2008 when it sold $2.09 billion. In that time frame, the nation's capital failed to sell more than $1 billion only in 2013 and 2014.
Also on Thursday, Piper Jaffray is expected to price the El Paso Independent School District, Texas' $184.09 million of unlimited tax school building bonds. The deal is rated Aaa by Moody's.
Citigroup is set to price the New York State Housing Finance Agency's $120 million of affordable housing Series 2017A climate bond certified green bonds and Series 2017B revenue bonds on Thursday.
In the competitive arena, the Cheery Creek School District Number 5, Colo., will sell $150 million of Series 2017 general obligation bonds on Thursday. The deal is rated Aa1 by Moody's and AA by S&P.
In the short-term competitive arena, Colorado is selling $375 million of Series 2016B education loan program tax and revenue anticipation notes Thursday. The deal is rated MIG1 by Moody's and SP1-plus by S&P.
Bond Buyer Visible Supply
The Bond Buyer's 30-day visible supply calendar increased $465 million to $10.09 billion for Wednesday. The total is comprised of $1.87 billion of competitive sales and $8.22 billion of negotiated deals.
