Treasuries fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Friday before eventually ending the day modestly lower.<\/p>\n
Bond prices bounced back and forth across the unchanged line in morning trading but settled in negative territory in the afternoon. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inch up by 1.3 basis points to 1.567 percent.<\/p>\n
The choppy trading on the day extended the lackluster performance seen in the previous session as traders digested reports President Joe Biden’s plans to raise capital gains tax rates.<\/p>\n
According to media outlets including Bloomberg News and the New York Times, Biden’s so-called “American Families Plan” would raise the capital gains rate for those earning $1 million or more to 39.6 percent from 20 percent.<\/p>\n
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing a substantial rebound in new home sales in the month of March.<\/p>\n
The report showed new home sales skyrocketed by 20.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.021 million in March after plunging by 16.2 percent to a revised rate of 846,000 in February.<\/p>\n
Economists had expected new home sales to spike by 14.3 percent to a rate of 886,000 from the 775,000 originally reported for the previous month.<\/p>\n
With the rebound, new home sales soared from the eight-month low set in February to their highest level since August of 2006.<\/p>\n
The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement is likely to be in the spotlight next week, although the central bank is widely expected to maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy.<\/p>\n
Traders are likely to pay close attention to any changes to the Fed’s statement that may signal a shift in policy in the near future.<\/p>\n
Reports on durable goods orders, consumer confidence and personal income and spending may also attract attention along with the preliminary reading on first quarter GDP.<\/p>\n
Bond traders are also likely to keep an eye on the results of the Treasury Department’s auctions of two-year, five-year and seven -year notes. <\/p>\n