Treasuries Extend Recent Move To The Downside

(RTTNews) - Treasuries came under pressure during trading on Wednesday, extending the downward trend seen over the past few sessions.

Bond prices moved to the downside in early trading and remained stuck in the red throughout the session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 3.3 basis points to 1.716 percent.

The weakness among treasuries came following the release of a slew of U.S. economic data, including a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing a substantial acceleration in service sector growth in the month of September.

The ISM said its non-manufacturing index surged up to 57.1 in September from 51.4 in August, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the service sector. Economists had expected the index to rise to 52.9.

With the much bigger than expected increase, the index rose to its highest level since reaching 58.3 last October.

"The comments from the respondents are mostly positive about business conditions and the overall economy," said Anthony Nieves, chair of the ISM Non-Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.

He added, "A degree of uncertainty does exist due to geopolitical conditions coupled with the upcoming U.S. presidential election."

A separate report from payroll processor ADP said private sector employment rose by 154,000 jobs in September after climbing by a downwardly revised 175,000 jobs in August.

Economists had expected employment to climb by about 170,000 jobs compared to the increase of 177,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The Commerce Department also released a pair of reports showing an unexpectedly wider trade deficit and an unexpected uptick in factory orders in August.

A report on weekly jobless claims may attract some attention on Thursday, although trading activity is likely to be somewhat subdued ahead of the release of the more closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.