Yields rise on stimulus, vaccine hopes for economy

U.S. Treasury yields rose on Wednesday on hopes of more domestic fiscal stimulus and that vaccines would spark an economic recovery.

The benchmark 10-year yield was up 3.1 basis points at 0.9444pc in morning trading, as major Wall Street indexes opened at record highs.

The risk-on moves reflected hopes on several fronts including that vaccines would start to control the COVID-19 pandemic and that lawmakers in Washington would pass additional stimulus measures, said Cantor Fitzgerald Treasury analyst Justin Lederer.

The Trump administration proposed a $916-billion coronavirus relief package on Tuesday after congressional Democrats shot down a suggestion for a pared-down plan from the Senate's leading Republican, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Still the 10-year note's yield remained below the 1pc level it last saw on March 20, and close to where it finished on Monday.

Investors seem to be waiting for stronger signals on the direction of policy, Lederer said, which may not come until elections in Georgia on January 5 decide control of the U.S Senate.

"We're just sitting range-bound here," Lederer said.

Pfizer Inc moved closer to getting its COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use on Tuesday, one factor driving major U.S. stock indexes to open at record highs on Wednesday.

A closely watched part of the U.S. Treasury yield curve measuring the gap between yields on two- and 10-year Treasury notes, seen as an indicator of economic expectations, was at 79 basis points, about 2 basis points higher than Tuesday's close.

The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was up less than a basis point at 0.1548pc in morning trading.