Treasuries Close Firmly Positive Amid Worries About Greece

(RTTNews) - After ending last Friday's trading modestly higher, treasuries saw some further upside over the course of the trading day on Monday.

Bond prices moved notably higher in morning trading and managed to remain in positive territory in the afternoon. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 4.3 basis points to 2.207 percent.

The strength among treasuries was partly due to concerns about the political situation in Greece amid news that Greek politicians once again failed to elect a new president.

Peter Boockvar, managing director at the Lindsey Group, said, "The third time was not the charm for PM Samaras and the Greek government to elect a new President after Parliament fell 12 votes short of the 180 needed to elect Stavros Dimas."

"His position is mostly symbolic but what comes next is an early election for Prime Minister where the very far left Syriza party is in the lead according to the polls," he added.

Boockvar said what happens in Greece shouldn't matter much economically for the rest of the world but pointed to sympathy selling in Italy, Spain and Portugal.

Nonetheless, trading activity was somewhat subdued amid a lack of major U.S. economic data and ahead of New Year's Eve and the New Year's Day holiday.

Economic data may attract some attention on Tuesday, with traders likely to keep an eye on reports on home prices and consumer confidence.