Morning Commentary: Investment-grade bond market activity quiet; Citigroup steady; Microsoft flat

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., Feb. 18 – High-grade bond market activity was quiet at the start of trading early Wednesday with traders focused on the release later in the day of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January policy meeting.

Citigroup Inc.’s 2.4% senior notes due 2020 brought in the previous week were quoted flat to 1 basis point weaker in secondary trading.

Microsoft Corp.’s 40-year bonds that priced a week ago traded flat.

The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade index closed unchanged on Tuesday at spread of 65 bps.

Citigroup mostly flat

Citigroup’s 2.4% notes due 2020 traded flat to 1 bp softer at 93 bps offered, a market source said.

Citigroup sold $2 billion of the notes (Baa2/A-/A) on Feb. 10 at a spread of Treasuries plus 95 bps.

The bank is based in New York.

Microsoft unchanged

Microsoft’s 4% bonds due 2055 traded flat at 143 bps offered, according to a market source.

Microsoft sold $2.25 billion of the bonds (Aaa/AAA/) on Feb. 9 at 153 bps over Treasuries.

The computer software company is based in Redmond, Wash.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.