Investment-grade primary action quiet; Kroger bonds tighten; AT&T, Time Warner soften

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., Dec. 1 – The investment-grade bond stayed mostly quiet with no reported issuance on Friday.

Investment-grade supply is expected to be heavy over the first full week of December with about $30 billion of volume forecast, a source said.

Credit spreads ended the day less than 1 basis point softer with the Markit CDX North American Investment Grade 29 index at a spread of 53 bps.

In the secondary market, Kroger Co.’s senior notes (Baa1/BBB/BBB) went out about 5 bps to more than 10 bps better on Friday.

The company reported better-than-expected third quarter earnings the previous day and also announced it has received a strong amount of buyer interest in its chain of convenience stores.

The retail grocery business has been affected by Amazon.com, Inc.’s $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Markets Inc. that closed in August.

Amazon.com’s 3.15% notes due Aug. 22, 2027 priced in August traded 1 bp better on the day.

Elsewhere in the secondary market, AT&T Inc.’s bonds (Baa1/BBB+/A-) were mixed on Friday.

The Justice Department announced in November that it had filed a federal lawsuit to stop the company’s acquisition of Time Warner Inc.

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