Stocks closed lightly in the red with the DOW index down -0.25% while corporate credit spreads closed mixed.
In cash bonds a couple of recent new issues, such as the Archer Daniels Midlands 10 year and 30 year deals, performed extremely well in the secondary markets while deals that were priced too tight traded heavy.
There were no bizarre flows related to quarter end with the exception of a relative under-performance of the high yield CDS (credit default swap) index versus the investment grade CDS index.
Treasury bonds sold off with all eyes on tomorrow's payroll and unemployment numbers.
European peripheral sovereign CDS spreads traded weak up until the Irish stress-test results (not as bad as expected) after which spreads came in a little off of the wide prints.
Oil trended higher to close above $106 a barrel as Colonel Qaddafi demonstrates his conventional firepower; the rebels' AK-47's are no match for the Colonel's tanks and heavy artillery.
More worrying than Libya is the instability in Yemen.
The interesting phenomenon about the markets is how liquidity remains thin; barring strong employment numbers tomorrow, the markets will remain jittery.
Campbell Soup, of canned soup fame, tapped the bond markets with a $1 billion 10 year issue at +85; the issue held in fairly fine in secondary trading even though the bond holds no CoC (change of control) language.
Macquarie Bank hit the market with a 10 year subordinated debt issue at +320; this issue immediately tightened some 5 bps in secondary trading.
All eyes are on the employment picture tomorrow.