MBS MID-DAY: Jobs Data Much Stronger and Bonds Rally (Seriously)

This has been one of the craziest NFP mornings I can remember--probably THE single most paradoxical reaction at first glance.  Granted, bond markets tanked at first following the 288k payrolls print (vs 210k forecast), but a few minutes later, began a slog that has now taken them all the way back to positive territory.

The only reasonable explanation for this is the pick up in geopolitical risk this morning with the focal point being Russia issuing a request for a meeting with the UN Security Council.  That meeting will take place today.

In addition to that headline, many others are floating around, building an increasingly risky picture overall.  These include things like helicopters being shot down, fatal gunfights, claims of Russian troops crossing the Ukrainian border and subsequent denial of those claims in a separate newswire.

The Ukraine-related headlines hit a bond market that was already showing some potential predisposition toward strength yesterday, but we can't rule out the possibility that they were already a factor then, but simply unpublicized.   Whatever the case, the headlines have ostensibly been the critical factor in turning a "resilient sell-off" in bond markets into a complete reversal.

MBS are an eighth of a point into positive territory after being more than 3/8ths of a point lower immediately following NFP.  10yr yields are right in line with yesterday's best levels at 2.597 but were as low as 2.576 earlier. 

Much like yesterday's paradoxical strength was difficult to "trust" from a longevity standpoint, today's strength is one of those things that we're lucky to have while we have it, but that can't be counted on sticking around.  The unfortunate exception would be further escalation of violence in Ukraine.