Treasuries Move Modestly Lower After Lacking Direction Early On

(RTTNews) - After showing a lack of direction early in the session, treasuries moved modestly lower over the course of the trading day on Tuesday.

Bond prices dipped into negative territory in afternoon trading after spending the morning lingering near the unchanged line. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, crept up 2.2 basis points to 4.204 percent.

The ten-year yield added to the 10.9 basis point surge seen on Monday, ending the day at its highest closing level in almost three months.

The modestly lower close by treasuries came amid concerns about the U.S. fiscal deficit ahead of the upcoming presidential election as well as waning optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

With recent comments from Federal Reserve officials suggesting the central banks plans to gradually lower rates, CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 89.6 percent chance of a 25 basis point rate cut next month.

Early in the session, traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves amid a lack of major U.S. economic data.

A report on existing home sales is likely to attract attention on Wednesday along with the Federal Reserve's Beige Book.