10-year Treasury yield falls ahead of key unemployment data

Momentum behind U.S. Treasury yields waned on Thursday, as a recovery rally in global stock markets stalled and investors looked ahead to the release of key economic data.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury was 4.8 basis points lower at 3.92% at 6:34 a.m. ET. The yield on the benchmark note had been climbing away from its lowest level since June 2023 over Tuesday and Wednesday.

The yield on the 2-year note was down around 4 basis points at 3.959%.

Yields and prices move in opposite directions, and one basis point is equivalent to 0.01%.

Equity markets appeared to retain some of the nervous sentiment that caused a worldwide sell-off at the start of August. U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday, helping send most Asia-Pacific and European markets lower on Thursday.

That sentiment includes jitters about the state of the U.S. economy and whether a recession is looming, following a weak jobs report.

Analysts at Deutsche Bank said in a note that Wednesday was “another topsy-turvy August day for markets, as an initially buoyant mood following dovish remarks from [Bank of Japan] officials … slowly faded through the course of the day.”

With investors now hungry for more guidance, jobless claims for the week ending Aug. 3, set to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, will be closely watched.