Primary bond market

The second quarter should bring more opportunity and less volatility following the worst quarter in four decades, analysts said.

Investors pulled more from municipal bond mutual funds as the Investment Company Institute on Wednesday reported $4.786 billion of outflows, up from $4.459 billion of outflows in the previous week.

The the $389.495 million of tax-exempts were sold late last month to help fund construction of the Broward County Convention Center Headquarters Hotel.

Denver will head to the municipal market next week with its biggest new money general obligation bond sale ever at $366.4 million.

Apollo will make an equity and credit investment that will significantly increase SWS’s underwriting capacity for municipal and corporate debt, as well as equity offerings, the firms said.

The March consumer price index offered little to deter the Federal Reserve from its aggressive plans, but markets saw it as a positive, having feared an upside miss.

Triple-A yields continue to rise, with the two-year muni just below 2%, the five well above and the 10-year approaching 2.5%.

Supply for the holiday-shortened week is $4.8 billion. Municipals performed the worst since 1980 in the first quarter of 2022, but some analysts see the pain subsiding.

Investors pulled more from municipal bond mutual funds in the latest week, with Refinitiv Lipper reporting $3.247 billion of outflows, of that $1 billion was high-yield. ETFs are still seeing inflows.

The university will decide on a final structure for a $500 million sale that could go as long as 100 years at the time of pricing, which is expected next week.

Investors pulled more from municipal bond mutual funds as the Investment Company Institute reported $4.5 billion of outflows in the week ending March 30.

SSM returns to the market with $323 million, highlighting its stronger balance sheet, ESG efforts, and medical partnerships that reflect a sector trend.

Hawkish Fed comments caused UST yields to rise by as much as 17 basis points, just as munis had caught a bid. The new-issue market fared well in digesting large deals amid the volatility.

Municipals have taken a hit in the first months of 2022, but higher yield levels and cheaper ratios have offered possibilities for both retail and institutional buyers, analysts say.

The $600 million deal is the authority's first 100% green transaction and it is also the first ever with bonds backed solely by revenue earned from specific transmission projects instead of the authority's general credit.

Next week's supply is slated to be $10.166 billion, $8.982 billion of negotiated deals and $1.184 billion of competitive loans. A larger primary calendar is led by two billion-dollar airport deals.

Investors pulled more from municipal bond mutual funds in the latest week, with Refinitiv Lipper reporting $2.038 billion of outflows, up from $1.503 billion of outflows in the previous week.

Total March volume was $39.363 billion in 793 deals versus $47.763 billion in 1,218 issues a year earlier but above the $34.363 billion average.

The Investment Company Institute on Wednesday reported $2.728 billion of outflows in the week ending March 23, down from $3.615 billion of outflows in the previous week.

Without a reversal in UST or municipal bond mutual fund outflows, munis will continue to be pressured.