Treasuries Recover From Early Weakness To Close Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - After coming under pressure early in the session, treasuries rebounded over the course of the trading day on Monday.

Bond prices climbed well off their early lows to end the day modestly higher. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 1.4 basis points to 4.414 percent after reaching a high of 4.491 percent.

The turnaround by treasuries may have reflected their appeal as a safe haven amid concerns about escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

A "massive" Russian missile and drone attack has targeted power infrastructure across Ukraine, the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory with long-range missiles supplied by the U.S. has sparked a furious response in Russia, with Russian senator Vladimir Dzhabarov calling it "an unprecedented step towards World War Three."

The change in stance follows Russia's deployment of North Korean ground troops to supplement its own forces, a development that has caused alarm in Washington and Kyiv.

The Russian president had said he would consider strikes by U.S.-made weapons on Russian soil as the direct involvement of Nato in the conflict.

In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Home Builders released a report showing homebuilder confidence has improved by much more than anticipated in the month of November.

The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index climbed to 46 in November after rising to 43 in October. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 44. With the much bigger than expected increase, the housing market index reached its highest level since hitting 51 in April.