The municipal market was largely unchanged Wednesday, as the market closed early ahead of Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday.
"There's nothing going on," a trader in New York said. "With the early close today, and the rest of the week the way it is, people aren't especially motivated to get things done. Treasuries are doing a bit better, but we're just not seeing nearly enough activity in munis to move the scale. We're pretty flat."
"Not much really to report here," a trader in Los Angeles said. "The market was closing early today, and it's closing early again Friday, but it's basically a five-day weekend here. We're totally flat, and most people I've talked to, myself included, barely got anything done here, and that was to be expected."
The Treasury market showed gains Wednesday, as durable goods dropped twice as much as expected. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which opened at 3.10%, finished at 2.97%. The yield on the two-year note was quoted near the end of the session at 1.09% after opening at 1.18%. The yield on the 30-year bond, which opened at 3.62%, was quoted near the end of the session at 3.52%.
In the absence of much municipal market activity Wednesday, a flood of economic data was released.
Durable goods orders plummeted 6.2% in October after a revised 0.2% decrease in September. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had predicted a 2.6% decline.
Excluding transportation, durable goods orders dropped 4.4% in October after a revised 2.3% decrease the month before. Economists polled by Thomson had predicted a 1.5% decrease.
Personal income climbed 0.3% in October after a revised 0.1% uptick in September. Economists polled by Thomson had predicted a 0.1% climb.
Personal consumption dipped 1.0% in October after a 0.3% decrease the prior month. Economists polled by Thomson had predicted a 0.9% decline.
The core personal consumption expenditures deflator showed no change in October, after a revised 0.2% climb in September. Economists polled by Thomson Reutershad predicted no change.
Initial jobless claims for the week ended Nov. 22 came in at 529,000 after a revised 543,000 the previous week. Economists polled by Thomson had predicted 537,000 initial jobless claims.
Continuing jobless claims for the week ended Nov. 15 came in at 3.962 million after a revised 4.016 million the previous week. Economists polled by Thomson had predicted 4.050 million continuing jobless claims.
The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Business Barometer slid to 33.8 in November, its lowest level since April 1982, from 37.8 in October. Economists polled by Thomson Reuterspredicted a 36.5 reading for the indicator.
The University of Michigan's final November consumer sentiment index reading was 55.3 compared to the preliminary November 57.9. Economists polled by Thomson had predicted a 57.9 reading for the index.
New home sales came in at 433,000 after a revised 457,000 the previous month. Economists polled by Thomson had predicted 450,000 new home sales.
