Morning Commentary: High-grade bonds stable; MetLife, Microsoft mostly flat in early trade

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., March 3 – High-grade corporate bonds traded mostly unchanged at the start of the session on Tuesday ahead of a heavy supply calendar, sources said.

MetLife Inc.’s senior notes (A3/A-/A-) that priced on Monday were stable in the secondary market.

Microsoft Corp.’s 4% bonds due 2055 were flat in early trading.

The Markit CDX North American Investment Grade index was unchanged at a spread of 61 basis points.

Issuers including Actavis plc, Charles Schwab Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. are expected to tap the market over the day.

MetLife mostly flat

MetLife’s 3% notes due 2025 were quoted at 95 bps offered in the secondary market, a source said.

The company sold $500 million of the notes at Treasuries plus 98 bps on Monday.

MetLife’s tranche of 4.05% bonds due 2045 traded at 136 bps offered, the source said.

MetLife priced $1 billion of the bonds at 140 bps over Treasuries in Monday’s offering.

The insurance and employee benefits company is based in New York City.

Microsoft stable

Microsoft’s 4% bonds due 2055 traded flat early Tuesday at 142 bps offered, according to a market source.

Microsoft sold $2.25 billion of the bonds (Aaa/AAA/) on Feb. 9 at 153 bps over Treasuries.

The computer software company is based in Redmond, Wash.

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