WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the advance seen during the previous session, treasuries moved back to the downside during trading on Wednesday.
Bond prices initially showed a lack of direction but slid into negative territory as the day progressed. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 1.9 basis points to 0.703 percent.
The pullback by treasuries came as stocks on Wall Street moved sharply higher following the sell-off seen over the three previous sessions.
Technology stocks helped to lead the way higher as traders looked to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following recent weakness.
Treasuries saw some further downside in afternoon trading after the Treasury Department revealed its auction of $35 billion worth of ten-year notes attracted below average demand.
The ten-year note auction drew a high yield of 0.704 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.30, while the ten previous ten-year note auctions had an average bid-to-cover ratio of 2.47.
The bid-to-cover ratio is a measure of demand that indicates the amount of bids for each dollar worth of securities being sold.
Looking ahead, the Treasury is due to announce the results of this month's auction of $23 billion worth of thirty-year bonds on Thursday.
Trading on Thursday may also be impacted by reaction to Labor Department reports on weekly jobless claims and producer price inflation.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX