2021.01.2019:16:00UTC+00Treasuries Close Nearly Unchanged For Second Straight Day

After ending the previous session roughly flat, treasuries continued to show a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Wednesday.

Bond prices spent the day lingering near the unchanged line. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a basis point to 1.090 percent.

The lackluster performance on the day came as former Vice President Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States.

Biden has called for additional stimulus and an accelerated coronavirus vaccine rollout, which has recently reduced the appeal for safe havens like bonds.

However, traders may be reluctant to make significant moves as they wait to see what Biden is actually able to accomplish.

The president is expected to sign several executive orders shortly after taking office, including orders to rejoin the Paris climate agreement and end former President Donald Trump's Muslim travel ban as well as the construction of the U.S.-Mexico border well.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off a report from the National Association of Home Builders showing an unexpected drop in homebuilder confidence in the month of January.

The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell to 83 in January after sliding to 86 in December. The continued decline surprised economists, who had expected the index to come in unchanged.

With the unexpected decrease, the housing market index pulled back further off the record high of 90 set in November.

Trading on Thursday may be impacted by reaction to reports on weekly jobless claims, housing starts and Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity.