JGBs little changed but long maturities gain on weak stocks

TOKYO: Most Japanese government bonds were little changed on Thursday but some super-long bonds firmed slightly as Japanese share prices tumbled for the third consecutive day, boosting the allure of government bonds.

While the market is supported by the Bank of Japan's massive bond buying programme, few investors are eager to buy JGBs at current levels after bond yields saw a substantial rise globally in the past few weeks.

Ten-year JGB futures fell 0.02 point to 150.83, with a trading volume of 25,407 lots while the 10-year JGB yield rose 0.5 basis point to 0.045 percent.

The two-year JGB yield was flat at minus 0.145 percent while the five-year JGB yield rose 0.5 basis point to minus 0.110 percent.

But the 30-year JGB yield fell 0.5 basis point to 0.745 percent and the 40-year yield dropped 0.5 basis point to 0.885 percent, helped by a fall in Japanese shares.

The Nikkei share average extended losses into a third day, falling 2.5 percent during this period.