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| BondsOnline.com: instant access to and extensive coverage of over 3.5 million stocks, bonds, indexes and other securities covering major and emerging markets and exchanges across the globe. |
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| Bonds Online |
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| 5/10/2013Market Performance |
| Municipal Bonds |
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S&P National Bond Index
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3.00% |
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S&P California Bond Index
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2.96% |
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S&P New York Bond Index
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3.13% |
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S&P National 0-5 Year Municipal Bond Index
|
0.70% |
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| S&P/BGCantor US Treasury Bond |
400.09 |
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| Income Equities: |
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| Preferred Stocks |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index
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848.03 |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (CAD)
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636.26 |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (TR)
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1,701.05 |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (TR) (CAD)
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1,276.26 |
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| REITs |
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S&P REIT Index
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174.07 |
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S&P REIT Index (TR)
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425.30 |
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| MLPs |
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S&P MLP Index
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2,469.58 |
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S&P MLP Index (TR)
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5,428.50 |
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See Data
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Bond investors get ready for rising rates
Most bond funds finish quarter on higher ground; Treasurys, munis slip |
MarketWatch - April 1, 2011 - By Rachel Koning Beals
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Spring has arrived for stock investors, but winter’s chill refuses to let go of shareholders in bond mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.
Fixed-income investors are — and have been — readying for rising interest rates and uncertain inflation risks. It’s a to-be-expected part of the economic cycle that’s been unexpectedly complicated by Japan’s earthquake, Middle East and North Africa political uprising, the rising debt burden of Europe and the United States, plus the global recovery’s herky-jerky performance.
Planning ahead is advisable in both life and investing. But getting the timing and scope of sometimes costly protection just right, that’s the tough part. Prospects for higher future rates diminish the worth of bonds already in circulation, while the inflation that can accompany stronger economic growth eats up the fixed payments earned on bond investments.
“With interest rates at historic lows and Uncle Sam’s debts at historic highs, millions of investors fear that a sustained march to higher bond-market yields is inevitable and all but imminent, and that the damage is going to be persistent and devastating,” said Eric Jacobson, director of fixed-income research at investment researcher Morningstar Inc.
“That worry is as intense as ever, despite considerable reason to think that the effect will be less catastrophic than many fear,” he added. “After shoving hundreds of billions of dollars into bond funds, which had been rallying on the back of falling Treasury yields and a credit-and-liquidity driven rally for most of 2009 and 2010, the wave has tapered, and investors have been desperate for an interest-rate refuge.”
For now, bond funds logged a modest early-year gain as global uncertainty kept up some demand for the perceived relative safety of bonds. But that performance eluded longer-term government debt funds, which lost value when expectations for higher future rates softened current prices. Certain municipal bond funds also dipped into the red in step with rising Treasury yields and what was, according to some market participants, an unnecessary rush to the exits once selling began.
High-yield corporate bond funds were up 3.6% in the quarter through March 30, leading all fixed-income categories, according to preliminary Morningstar data. Their performance tracked signs of economic improvement and the upward trend for stocks. Although the major equity averages slid backward on worries of global nuclear implications from Japan’s quake and tsunami, they eventually returned to a retest of pre-2008 financial crisis levels. Higher-rated company-issued debt funds rose between 0.6% for the shortest timeframe up to a 1.2% gain for longer-dated maturities. Read more: Stock investors buckle up for wild ride.
For the complete article.
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