Secondary bond market

"In the aftermath of this week's Treasury yield move lower, MMD-UST ratios have reached short-term highs," Barclays strategists said.

"With the initial announcement proving to be more aggressive than expected, the market responded overwhelmingly negatively," said Principal Asset's Seema Shah.

Details surrounding the tariffs — which could be anything from reciprocal tariffs to finally implementing delayed tariffs on Canada and Mexico and on pharmaceuticals — have remained unclear, but uncertainty has plagued the market for weeks.

Triple-A yields have fallen as much as 12 basis points over the past three trading sessions.

New York Power Authority CFO Adam Barsky and Battery Park City Authority CFO Pamela Frederick join The Bond Buyer's Lynne Funk to unpack the far-reaching consequences of eliminating, reducing, or limiting the federal tax exemption for municipal bonds.

The asset class extended its selloff last week as concerns regarding the tax-exempt status of munis continued to mount, combined with a heavy new-issue calendar and tax season selling by investors, said Jason Wong, vice president of municipals at AmeriVet Securities.

Issuance for the week of March 31 is at $9.29 billion, with $8.011 billion of negotiated deals and $1.28 billion of competitive deals on tap.

Following Wednesday's selloff, muni yields were cut even further, with yields rising up to six basis points, depending on the scale. Meanwhile, UST yields rose two basis points out long.

"We're navigating a crosscurrent of macro risks — tariffs, tax policy proposals, DOGE cuts, and evolving economic data — layered on top of a broader risk-off tone," said James Pruskowski, CIO of 16Rock Asset Management.

What's happening to the muni market is the "confluence of modest selling (via fund outflows and retail perhaps pausing during tax season); a heavy new issue calendar; and very thin near-term reinvestment expectations," said Matt Fabian, a partner at Municipal Market Analytics.