Munis mostly flat; Massachusetts sells $525 million; Cincinnati Children's Hospital prices

By Sheri Kasprzak

New York, Dec. 17 - Municipals ended the session mostly flat with a somewhat firmer tone, traders reported.

Some market insiders sat on the sidelines, said a trader, as the Federal Open Market Committee conducts a meeting this week. Many expect some news about the Fed's plan to taper its quantitative easing program.

Municipals held steady despite a boost in the Treasuries market after a two-year note auction.

The 10-year Treasury note yield fell by 4 basis points to close out the day at 2.842%, and the 30-year bond yield fell by 2.5 bps to 3.87%. The five-year note yield fell by 3.5 bps to 1.498%.

The two-year note fell by a basis point to close at 0.322% after the Treasury Department auctioned off $32 billion of two-year notes at a high yield of 0.345%. The bid-to-cover ratio was 3.77 times, market sources said during the session.

Massachusetts debt prices

Heading up the day's primary action, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts hit the market with $525 million of series 2014A consolidated loan general obligation bonds.

The bonds (//AA+) were sold competitively. The issuer did not immediately return calls for the winning bidder Tuesday.

The bonds are due 2016 to 2019 and 2031 to 2041 with a term bond due in 2043. The serial coupons range from 4% to 5% with 0.60% to 4.57% yields. The 2043 bonds have a 4.5% coupon and priced at 97.114 to yield 4.68%, according to a pricing sheet.

Proceeds will be used to finance the commonwealth's current capital spending plan.

Cincinnati Children's prices

Also during the day, Hamilton County, Ohio, brought $123.79 million of series 2014S hospital facilities refunding revenue bonds for the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

The bonds (Aa2/AA-/) were sold through J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and U.S. Bancorp Investments Co.

The bonds are due 2015 to 2034 with 3% to 5% coupons, said a pricing sheet.

Proceeds will be used to refund the medical center's series 1998G and 2004J revenue bonds.

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