2018.10.1915:21:00UTC+00Treasuries Move To The Downside Amid Quiet Trading Day

After ending the previous session roughly flat, treasuries showed a modest move to the downside during the trading day on Friday.

Bond prices moved lower early in the session and remained stuck in negative territory. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 2.3 basis points to 3.198 percent.

The early weakness among treasuries came on the heels of a rally by Chinese stocks, which rebounded strongly from an initial move to the downside despite disappointing GDP data.

Data showed Chinese GDP climbed an annual 6.5 percent in the third quarter, shy of estimates for 6.6 percent and down from 6.7 percent in the previous quarter.

However, investors reacted positively after three top Chinese financial regulators stepped in to bolster investor confidence.

The heads of the People's Bank of China, the Securities Regulatory Commission and the Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission all issued statements expressing support for the markets.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the National Association of Realtors showing a much steeper than expected drop in existing home sales in the month of September.

NAR said existing home sales plunged by 3.4 percent to an annual rate of 5.15 million in September after edging down by 0.2 percent to a revised rate of 5.33 million in August. Economists had expected existing home sales to drop by 0.7 percent.

With the much bigger than expected decrease, existing home sales slumped to their lowest annual rate since November of 2015.

The U.S. economic calendar for next week is relatively quiet, although reports on new home sales, durable goods orders, and consumer sentiment are still likely to attract attention.

Traders are also likely to keep an eye on the Federal Reserve's Beige Book as well as speeches by several Fed officials.