Energy credits lead market lower as oil slide resumes; Open Text hits road with 10-year deal

By Paul Deckelman and Paul A. Harris

New York, Jan. 5 – High-yield market activity picked up on Monday – the start of the first full trading week of the new year.

But while volume levels were better than last week’s sleepy pre- and post-holiday sessions, price levels were anything but.

Traders said that Junkbondland was broadly lower, and the culprit – as has so often been the case over the last two months – was oil prices, which resumed their recent slide, falling to new 5˝-year lows intraday, including a dip down below $50 per barrel for benchmark U.S. crude.

That triggered a new downside move in such oil and natural gas exploration and production names as Linn Energy LLC, California Resources Corp. and SandRidge Energy Inc., each of which was down multiple points.

That weakness slopped over into the overall high-yield market. Among the issues seen lower in relatively active trading was Sprint Corp., even though there was no fresh news out about the number three U.S. wireless company.

The primary market was quiet with no pricings seen. However, software provider Open Text Corp. unveiled plans for a $600 million offering of 10-year notes, which will be shopped around to potential investors via a roadshow that is scheduled to get under way on Tuesday. There was also talk in the market of an upcoming big deal from European cable operator Altice SA.

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