Junk lower, less active as market watches equity carnage, crude oil slide; energy names off

By Paul Deckelman and Paul A. Harris

New York, Aug. 24 – The high-yield market began the last full trading week of August on Monday in a wary frame of mind, spooked by the bloodbath going on in equities – first in the overseas markets and later in U.S. stocks, which saw indexes such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting, then bouncing off those lows in a comeback attempt – but still ending solidly lower on the day.

That and the continued plunge in crude oil prices – which hit their lowest levels in more than six years – combined to push numerous junk issues down multiple points.

Energy names taking it on the chin as a result again included such familiar credits as California Resources Corp., SandRidge Energy, Inc. and Consol Energy Inc.

Traders once again did not see much activity Monday in recently priced bonds such as Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. – but going back a little further, there were some dealings in names like Owens-Illinois, Inc. and WPX Energy, Inc.

The primary remained bestilled, a condition expected to continue right through the Labor Day holiday in the United States two weeks from now, and even beyond.

Statistical measures of junk market performance were weaker across the board for a fifth straight session on Monday, some market measures hitting new lows for the year amid the struggling market.

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