Treasury yields fall as coronavirus fears persist

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, dropped four basis points to around 1.544%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also lower at around 1.992%.

The 10-year Treasury yield also dipped below 3-month rate, sending a recession signal.

China’s National Health Commission on Tuesday reported an additional 98 deaths nationwide, with 1,886 new cases of the coronavirus. As of Feb. 17, the commission said there had been a total of 72,346 confirmed cases and 1,868 deaths.

On Monday, Apple warned it does not expect to meet its quarterly revenue forecast because of slowed production and weakened demand resulting from the coronavirus outbreak.

The largest company in the U.S. said that while all its iPhone manufacturing partner sites had reopened, they were “ramping up more slowly than we had anticipated.”

The revenue warning appeared to dent market sentiment, as investors returned to trade following a U.S. holiday on Monday.

The U.S. Treasury is set to auction $45 billion in 13-week bills, $39 billion in 26-week bills and $40 billion in 21-day bills.

Elsewhere, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari will deliver remarks on the world’s largest economy at event in St. Paul, Minnesota on Tuesday.