“When there’s more certainty around rate hikes, or a lack thereof, people are more willing to get into fixed-income generally, and then on top of that, it’s the flight to safety,” Patti told the Wall Street Journal. “It’s sinking in that we might be in for a lot of uncertainty over the coming months and maybe years.”
Futures traders have cut the likelihood of a hike in U.S. rates by year-end to around 10% since the Brexit, down from 50% on the day of the vote. Some traders are even assigning a 10% probability of a Fed interest rate cut at its July meeting and more than a 20% chance of a rate cut at subsequent meetings later this year and in early 2017, reports Jen Wieczner for Fortune.
Related: Wall Street Eyes Junk Bond ETF for Easy Liquidity
“You see a lot of people chasing yield,” Will Wall, head trader at RiverFront Investment Group LLC, told Bloomberg. “If we continue to see the sell-off in equities, we would probably position more money in the fixed-income space, whether that be Treasuries or high yield.”
For more information on the speculative-grade debt market, visit our junk bonds category.
iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF