U.S. Treasuries gain on Wall Street’s poor performance overnight; investors await initial jobless claims

The U.S. Treasuries gained Thursday, tracking a poor performance of equities overnight and ahead of the country’s initial jobless claims, scheduled to be released later in the day. Financial markets showed a signal risk-off sentiment after bombshell revelations about a memo apparently written by the recently dismissed FBI Director added more uncertainty in US politics.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury, which moves inversely to its price, fell nearly 1 basis point to 2.21 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields slipped a little over 1/2 basis point to 2.89 percent while the yield on short-term 2-year note traded flat at 1.24 percent by 11:40GMT.

The USD remained under pressure in European trade and US Treasuries retained a firm tone while major European bourses were weaker in early trade, taking their cue from Wall Street’s poor performance overnight.

Further, market moves were mostly driven by international reports suggesting that US President Donald Trump tried to interfere with a federal investigation, increasing doubts over his ability to push through major campaign promises but also raising talks over the risk of his impeachment should that allegation be verified.

Lastly, VIX rocketed from its recent subdued level, stock prices dropped sharply across the board, especially in the banking sector, while the demand for gold, yen and core sovereign bonds increased.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Futures traded 0.25 percent lower at 2,351.00 by 11:50GMT, while at 11:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Dollar Strength Index remained highly bearish at -111.95 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex