Market Brief, North America

Global interest rate benchmarks and the US dollar are sharply lower after a remarkably-turbulent short-covering rally saw the ten-year Treasury yield fall from above 5 percent to 4.84 percent during yesterday’s session. We hesitate to ascribe price action to investors talking their books, but the move appeared to kick off when Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman said he’d unwound his bet against US government bonds, and gained steam on comments from “bond king” Bill Gross, who wrote that he had begun buying short-dated interest-rate futures to harness an expected downturn by year end. Equity futures are setting up for a stronger...

Risk appetites are on the wane in financial markets once again this morning, with a raft of critical data releases looming even as geopolitical tensions simmer in the background. Treasury yields are edging higher, with the ten-year pushing back through 4.75 percent, equity futures oriented toward a slightly softer open, and Brent prices holding above the $90 mark. The dollar is still showing signs of strength relative to the euro and yen, but gains have slowed relative to the pace set last week. Investors are still processing the implications of President Biden’s freshly-announced trip to Israel, in which he is...