Bond yields mixed

Yields on US Treasury bonds were down on Tuesday on profit-taking and a lack of news to inspire investors. At late morning, yields on ten-year notes had fallen by 0.8 basis points to 4.858 percent, down from 4.909 percent on Monday. Two-year yields were down by 2.1 basis points to 4.833 percent.

In the Eurozone, meanwhile, the yield on the ten-year Bund had risen by 3 basis points to 3.839 percent ahead of a meeting of the European Central Bank on Thursday. The Bank is not expected to raise interest rates at this meeting, but recent strong economic data has analysts convinced that a rate hike could be coming soon, possibly as early as May.

Gilts were mixed in the UK, with yields on longer-dated bonds dropping but yields on shorter-dated paper up. Two-year gilts were yielding 4.471 percent, up 1 basis point. Fifty-year gilts, however, saw yields drop by 1.3 basis points to 3.957 percent.

In Japan, yields on the ten-year government bond dropped 0.5 percent to 1.840 percent on a falling equities market and slow sales of newly-issued notes.