Yields and basis point (bp) movements of some of the most-watched 10-year bonds this afternoon:

UK: 1.82% (+2.4bp)
Germany: 1.47% (+1.5bp)
France: 2.237% (-0.2bp)
Spain: 5.668% (+1.6bp)
Italy: 4.997% (-1.8bp)

Bond trading was closed for a second straight day in the US on Tuesday as both bond and equity markets shut in response to Hurricane Sandy.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) recommended a full market close today for trading of US dollar-denominated fixed-income securities in the US, Tokyo and London.

Italian 10-year bonds gained today after a debt sale earlier in the day reached its issuance target of €7bn in five- and 10-year notes.

The nation sold €3bn of 10-year bonds at a yield of 4.92%, down from 5.24% at the previous auction, while €4bn of five-year bonds were sold at a borrowing rate of 3.80%, down from 4.09%.

However, Andrew Balls, the head of European portfolio management at Pimco, said today that the bond fund is refraining from going "maximum overweight" on Spanish and Italian debt until the financial situation is clearer. Spanish bonds declined today.

Speaking on Bloomberg TV, Balls said: "There's a lot of execution risk so this is not something where we would go to maximum overweight."

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