US EURODLR OPTIONS: BLOCK, Dec Put Spd

• Wall Street edged lower following the London close despite a relatively strong start, as Western outlets and leaders including the US defense secretary and the Ukrainian President said there was no evidence that Russian military units have withdrawn from the southern and eastern borders. The headlines came despite Russian press continually reporting their demobilization, with sentiment worsened by WSJ headlines that cited a number of incidents between Russian and US aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea - another indication that tensions remain high despite recent diplomatic efforts.
• Some of the session's largest sell programmes came alongside the tick lower in futures, with prices narrowing the gap with first support at 4354.00 - the Feb 14 low. A confirmed break below here exposes 4263.25, the lows from Jan 27.
• Tech and growth names were the hardest hit on the downtick, putting the likes of Netflix, Twitter, and Meta Platforms among the session's worst performers. The energy sector was the sole sector to post gains, with the recovery off the lows in oil prices largely responsible.

Tsy futures holding modest gains following brief two-way following $19B 20Y note auction (912810TF5) comes in on the screw: 2.396% high yield vs. 2.396% WI; 2.44x bid-to-cover vs. last month's 2.48x.

• Indirect take-up recedes to 62.981% vs. last months year+ high of 66.22%; direct bidder take-up surged to new high 20.98% (17.03% in Jan) vs. Dec'21 year high of 20.83% while primary dealer take-up slips to 16.11% vs. 16.75%.
• Next 20Y auction (re-open) is tentatively scheduled for March 23.