The seemingly unstoppable flattening of the Treasury yield curve that was widely blamed for the sell-off in global stocks stalled Thursday as investors piled into the shortest-dated securities.
Unlike Tuesday, two-year notes drove gains as stocks, led by the technology sector, looked to resume their slide following the arrest of Huawei Technologies Co.’s chief financial officer over potential violations of sanctions on Iran.
The rally in bonds took the yield on two-year securities down to the lowest level in almost three months. That meant the difference between two- and 10-year U.S. bonds widened to 13 basis points, the first steepening in five trading days.
A section of the U.S. yield curve inverted last week for the first time in 11 years, sending jitters through financial markets across the world as investors worried about the possibility of a slowdown in the world’s biggest economy.
“The expectations of further turmoil in equities and widening in credit is serving to support Treasuries,” said Peter Chatwell, head of European rates strategy at Mizuho International Plc. “The main support for USTs being at the front end highlights that investors are comfortable in positioning contrary to what the Fed has been guiding the market to expect.”
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