Verizon sells $1 billion green notes; Jersey Power reopens 2015 issue; spreads tighten

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., Feb. 5 – Verizon Communications Inc. led deal action in the high-grade bond market on Tuesday with a $1 billion offering of 10-year green notes.

The session also saw an issue from Jersey Central Power & Light Co., which priced a $400 million add-on to its 4.3% notes due 2026 that were originally brought to the market in 2015.

In other supply on Tuesday, Canadian National Railway Co. tapped the Canadian high-grade market with an C$800 million two-part offering of senior notes.

A dollar-denominated deal along with euro bonds may be in the works from Altria Group Inc., which held investor calls on Monday.

Meanwhile, credit spreads continue to improve since the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged last week.

The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade 31 index firmed nearly 2 basis points on Tuesday to a spread of 64 bps.

The index was flat at a spread of 73 bps in the same period a week ago.

Otherwise, market action was light ahead of the U.S. president’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

Most of the Asian markets are closed for the week due to the Lunar New Year celebrations.

Market sources predicted about $15 billion to $20 billion of high-grade supply this week, with some expecting as little as $10 billion depending on Altria’s offering.

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