Exchange traded funds that invest in U.S. Treasuries fell sharply in Thursday’s “risk-on” rally as equities and yields soared on relief over the Eurozone debt deal.
The iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond (NYSEArca: TLT) lost a hefty 3.4% on Thursday, a huge move for an ETF that tracks long-term Treasuries.
The bond ETF has sliced through its 50-day moving average in a tough October. Meanwhile, in stocks, SPDR S&P 500 (NYSEArca: SPY) has bounced 20% from its Oct. 4 intraday low.
A 2.5% print on third-quarter GDP growth Thursday also cooled recession fears as investors flocked into riskier assets. The U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace this year, report Susanne Walker and Daniel Kruger for Bloomberg.
“Three weeks ago, we were priced for the market to fall into a recession pretty quickly,” Michael Pond, co-head of interest-rate strategy at Barclays Plc., said in the Bloomberg story. “The data’s not consistent at all with that, and that’s why we’ve had the run-up in yields.”
“Europe is doing better and stocks are doing much better,” Thomas Connor, president and head of trading at Pierpont Securities, added. “The bond market is mispriced. I expect yields to move higher.”
Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.