JGBs dip as Nikkei jumps, risk-off mood fades

07 Jan, 2019

TOKYO: Japanese government bond prices dipped across the board on Monday as a dovish turn by the Federal Reserve and strong U.S. jobs data improved investors' risk appetite in the broader markets and curbed demand for safe-haven debt.

Pressuring JGBs, the Nikkei climbed 2.4 percent on Monday, tracking sharp gains on Wall Street as dovish comments from Jerome Powell and strong non-farm payrolls soothed some of the market's fears about the global outlook.

The benchmark 10-year yield gained 2 basis point to minus 0.020 percent, after hitting its lowest level in more than two years of 0.050 percent on Friday.

The super-long sector followed suit, with the 20-year , the 30-year and the 40-year yields falling 2.5 basis points each to 0.465 percent, 0.680 percent and 0.805 percent, respectively.

Ten-year JGB futures eased 0.14 point to 152.70, retreating from its 2-1/2-year peak of 152.99 hit on Friday, with a trading volume of 28,677 lots.

Losses in JGBs were limited as the Bank of Japan conducted a regular debt-purchasing operation, buying 1 trillion yen ($9.24 billion) of one- to five year and ten- to 40-year bonds on Monday.

Copyright Reuters, 2019
 

Read Comments