Bond market moves are getting plenty of attention this week. 10-year Treasury yields dropped to levels not seen since the opening trading sessions of 2022 and German yields have dipped back into negative territory (and will again have to contend with resistance at zero). Credit has been slower to react. The Moody’s BAA Corporate yield is just a few basis points off its high and upside momentum remains intact. Except for a brief COVID related blip, the six month change in corporate yields is at its highest level since the financial crisis. This matters because all of the net gains in the S&P 500 over the past twenty years have come when corporate yields have been falling. It has been very difficult for the S&P 500 to make any upside progress when the path for yields has been higher. Even before the Fed has started to raise rates or drawdown its balance sheet, the liquidity backdrop has already deteriorated.
