Treasuries Close Roughly Flat After Seeing Early Strength

(RTTNews) - Treasuries showed a strong move to the upside in early trading on Wednesday but gave back ground over the course of the session.

Bond prices pulled back well off their early highs before ending the day roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a basis point to 4.387 percent after hitting a low of 4.261 percent.

The initial strength among treasuries came after President Donald Trump appeared to soften his stance on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

"I have no intention of firing him," Trump told reporters on Tuesday but reiterated he would like to see Powell and the Fed resume lowering interest rates.

Trump's attacks on Powell, including calling him a "major loser" as recently as Monday, had led to anxiety on Wall Street about the Fed's independence.

The president also suggested he's willing to take a less confrontational approach to trade talks with China, predicting the current 145 percent tariff on Chinese imports will "come down substantially."

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as traders continue to express concerns about recent volatility in the markets triggered largely by Trump's words.

Reports on weekly jobless claims, durable goods orders and existing home sales may attract attention on Thursday but are likely to be overshadowed by any developments on the trade front.