Treasury yields slide amid safe haven buying, curve inversion worries

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Traders and financial professionals work at the closing bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), November 12, 2018 in New York City. 

Jitters in stock markets meanwhile have also weighed on traders, leading to increased buying in typically safe haven assets like government bonds and gold.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered an almost 800-point drop on Tuesday, as fears over a slowdown in economic growth and the U.S.-China trade war took hold. It was the index’s worst performance since Oct. 10.

Questions linger over whether Washington and Beijing will resolve their dispute within a 90-day truce that was agreed by each other’s governments at the G-20 summit.

Canada’s arrest of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou over the alleged violation of sanctions against Iran has intensified worries around the spat between the two countries. Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, faces extradition to the U.S.

Elsewhere, investors are anticipating an upcoming meeting of the Federal Reserve, scheduled to take place on Dec. 18. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to raise rates this month, however recent dovish commentary from Chairman Jerome Powell has led to queries around how many times it will hike rates next year.

A slew of economic data are due to be released on Thursday: the Challenger Job-Cut Report is due at 7:30 a.m. ET, the ADP Employment Report is due at 8:15 a.m. ET, international trade figures, jobless claims numbers and productivity and costs data are due at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Meanwhile, the Treasury will auction $40 billion in four-week bills and $30 billion in eight-week bills on Thursday.