Junk market ends mixed following holiday market closure; some energy names rebound

By Paul Deckelman and Paul A. Harris

New York, Jan. 19 – The high yield market saw a relatively quiet post-holiday session on Tuesday, after re-opening following Monday’s market close for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Traders said that junk began the day on a firm note, in line with early gains in the equity markets, but then backed off its peak levels as stocks retreated around them middle of the session, only to come back to end the day somewhat higher.

All told, the traders said, the junk market was a mixed bag.

There was considerable activity in telecommunications and related sectors, with communications antenna-tower operator Crown Castle International Corp.’s paper firmer, on market-leading volume, in line with its shares, which bounced on Monday after having lost ground Friday on an industry website report that No. 3 U.S. cellular company Sprint Corp. plans to save as much as $1 billion annually over the next few years by relocating some of its transmission equipment to government-owned properties and rights-of-way, which would have lower rents.

And as usual, wireline operator Frontier Communications Corp.’s big, liquid bond issues were among the market’s busiest, seen ending mixed.

Crude oil prices were mixed on the day, with benchmark U.S. crude grade West Texas Intermediate falling to intraday lows below $28 per barrel not seen since September of 2003, before finally cutting their losses bust still ending down on the day, while international benchmark Brent crude firmed slightly on the day.

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