Asian bond spreads narrowed on Monday, as investors found comfort in data showing that US consumers were more upbeat about the economy, but caution capped gains ahead of the release of jobs figures later this week. The Reuters-University of Michigan survey of US consumers showed that the index of confidence rose to 65.1 in April from 57.3 in March, suggesting that Asia's top export market may be on a slow path to recovery.
Volume of trade was thin with Japan closed for a holiday, while the release of the US non-farms payrolls data on Friday kept investors from taking more risks, traders said. The Asia iTraxx investment-grade index excluding Japan tightened to 272/282 basis points from 275/290 on Thursday, a Hong Kong-based trader said. Hong Kong's financial markets were shut for a public holiday on Friday. The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan was up 3.7 percent as of 0300 GMT.
THE FOLLOWING WERE THE MAJOR MOVERS IN CASH BONDS AND CREDIT DEFAULT SWAPS (CDS):
CHINA'S five-year CDS tightened by 5 bps to 120/130 on upbeat economic outlook, traders said. China's economy will rise 7 percent in the second quarter, a government think-tank said.
SOUTH KOREA'S five-year CDS narrowed to 220/250 bps from 250/260 on Thursday, tracking the broader market's performance, traders said. A slower drop in exports also lifted sentiment.
PHILIPPINES' cash bonds rose, reflecting an improvement in risk appetite. The country's 8.375 percent bond due in 2019 traded up to 111.375/111.625 from 111.00/111.25, a Manila-based trader said. The country's five-year CDS narrowed to 285/295 bps from 293/303.
Comments
Comments are closed.