US Treasuries weakened in conjunction with gains in risky assets such as stocks and crude oil.

Market Roundup

• US Treasuries weakened in conjunction with gains in risky assets such as stocks and crude oil. DJIA marked the new high at 18613, whilst Brent crude rose by about $2/bbl to $46.04/bbl on Thursday. On the other hand, decent economic data releases also aided in pushing the yields higher across the curve. Import prices registered at +0.1% MoM in Jul, against consensus -0.4%. Initial jobless claims were marginally lower at 266k for the week ended 6 Aug, compared to 267k a week prior.
• Malaysian sovereign bonds closed marginally firmer, amid better buying interest on Thursday. Meantime, WI for the 15-year GII was last heard at 4.20/10%. Elsewhere, sentiment was slightly boosted by release of better-than-expected industrial production data, which recorded an upbeat growth of 5.3% in Jun, way above 2.5% forecasted earlier.
• THB denominated government bonds ended flat ahead of the long weekend (Queen’s Birthday on Friday). However, we noted improved trading flows, as daily volume edged higher from Bt15.0 billion to Bt17.6 billion, led by LB206A. On the other hand, we think that the shorter dated bonds should see firm support in the coming weeks, amid a lack of primary supply for the month of Aug.
• Indonesian government bonds were traded in a tight range on Thursday. Upside seems quite limited ahead of next week's bond auction, and buying flows were offset by selling pressure, causing insignificant movement. Looks like this week's market is set to be quiet while awaiting next week's July trade balance data, bond auction, and BI MPC meeting. Market volume halved to IDR6.4 trillion and dominated by bonds maturing in over 10 years (58%).