Preferreds quiet as Pope speaks; Yellen eyed; deal chatter circulates; recent deals active

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Phoenix, Sept. 24 – A preferred stock trader said the big news in early Thursday trading was Pope Francis’ address to Congress.

“There’s just nothing going on,” he said.

While the Pope’s speech likely has little impact on any market movement, a speech from Federal Reserve chairman Janet Yellen later in the day might.

Yellen was slated to give a speech on inflation at the University of Massachusetts at 5 p.m. ET. She was not expected to take any questions, but there is hope she might give a clue as to when – or if – the central bank will raise interest rates, having failed to do so last week.

Still, the preferred space initially followed the broader markets lower, with the Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities index trading off 6 basis points at mid-morning. However, the market came back to end “basically flat,” a market source said.

A market source noted that volume continued to be “really, really light,” though deals priced earlier in the month remained on the active side.

Wells Fargo & Co.’s $900 million of 6% series V class A noncumulative preferreds (NYSE: WFCPV) once again topped the day’s most active list, rising 4 cents to $25.18.

A source noted that the closing price was at the high end of the trading range.

Meanwhile, Qwest Corp.’s $400 million of 6.625% $25-par notes due 2055 slipped a penny to $24.87.

© 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.