Quiet day ahead of Easter holiday; Bank of America, Ford Motor Credit tighten in secondary

By Aleesia Forni and Cristal Cody

Virginia Beach, April 2 – The high-grade bond market was muted on Thursday ahead of the extended Easter-holiday weekend.

This kept the week’s total supply at a mere $3,925,000,000, the smallest weekly new issuance total of 2015 thus far.

With companies heading into blackouts ahead of earnings season, and on the heels of March’s more than $163 billion of new issuance, primary activity is likely to remain measured in the coming weeks.

Sources are calling for around $10 billion of new issuance for the week ahead.

Meanwhile, Lipper reported inflows of $491 million into corporate high-grade bond funds for the week ended April 1, the lowest inflow of the year so far.

The total was down from last week’s inflows of $1.21 billion, bringing the year-to-date total inflows to $25.126 billion.

Investment-grade bonds traded mostly better in quiet activity on Thursday ahead of the long holiday weekend, sources said.

Bank of America NA’s new 1.65% senior bank notes due 2018 were quoted 10 basis points tighter than issuance.

Ford Motor Credit Co. LLC’s 2.459% senior notes due 2020 headed out 7 bps better than where the bonds priced a week ago.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s senior notes (Baa1/A- /A) reopened in the previous week traded flat to tighter during the session, going out 7 bps to 10 bps better than pricing.

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