EM LATAM CREDIT: CSN: Possible Sale of Steel Ops – Neutral
(CSNABZ; Ba3*-/B+neg/BBneg)
• The troubled steel business, plagued by alleged Chinese dumping, may be up for sale according to sources of local news outlet Valor Economico. Previously, the company announced plans to reduce balance sheet leverage from proceeds of the sale of infrastructure assets and the profitable cement business for as much as BRL18bn ($3.4bn). It seems almost every asset is for sale in an effort to reduce debt and that deleveraging effort has been in progress for a few years now so the market may need to see more tangible results before buying in to that story further.
• CSN bond prices rose initially on the deleveraging plan announced January 15th more than a point but then retreated after the S&P rating downgrade and are now lower than before the news. An IPO of the cement business was attempted in 2021-22 but failed. In general, there is some skepticism about the closing of these transactions as well as the concern that CSN is selling their best performing assets and leaving behind the ailing steel business, though the company would still also have the top performing iron ore business that is not for sale.
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US TSYS: Curves Twist Steeper, Quiet Return from Christmas Holiday
- Treasuries look to finish mixed Friday, curves twisting steeper with 2s-10s holding modestly higher vs. weaker Bonds after the bell.
- Currently, the TYH6 contract trades +2.5 at 112-19 vs. 112-23 early session high, on light post Christmas holiday volume of just over 650,000. 10Y yld near steady at 4.1336%. Key short-term resistance into 112-31, the Dec 18 high.
- Projected rate cut pricing gained vs. late Wednesday levels (*): Jan'26 at -5bp (-3.3bp), Mar'26 at -15.2bp (-12.3bp), Apr'26 at -21bp (-18.1bp), Jun'26 at -35.2bp (-31.1bp).
- US$ index near midrange after bouncing off midmorning lows, Bbg index BBDXY +0.21 at 1200.86
- Mining shares continued to buoy the Materials sector after Gold climbing to new record highs early Friday (4,549.92), trading desks citing an uptick in geopolitical tensions after Pres Trump launched attacks on Isis elements in Nigeria.
- Look Ahead: Monday data sees Pending Home Sales MoM (1000ET), Dallas Fed Mfg Activity (1030). COMC minutes for the December meeting to be released at 1400ET Tuesday.
US STOCKS: Late Equities Roundup: Miners Outperform as Gold Hits Record High
- Stocks hold near steady (SPX Eminis & Nasdaq) to weaker for the DJIA late Friday. Currently, the DJIA trades down 81.36 points (-0.17%) at 48652.31, S&P E-Mini Futures down 4.5 points (-0.06%) at 6978.5, Nasdaq up 16.4 points (0.1%) at 23629.91.
- Materials, Information Technology and Health Care sector shares led advances in late trade. Miners continued to buoy the Materials sector after Gold climbing to new record highs early Friday (4,549.92), trading desks citing an uptick in geopolitical tensions after Pres Trump launched attacks on Isis elements in Nigeria.
- Freeport-McMoRan +1.77%, Smurfit WestRock +1.14%, Newmont +0.78% and LyondellBasell Industries +0.72%.
- NVIDIA +1.88%, Crowdstrike Holdings +0.97%, Lam Research +0.94% and Dell Technologies +0.85%.
- Elevance Health +1.21%, Viatris +0.78%, UnitedHealth Group +0.71% and Baxter International +0.65%.
- Conversely, Energy sector and Utilities/Industrials shares led declines in the second half:
- Devon Energy -2.04%, APA Corp -1.64%, Diamondback Energy -1.23% and Occidental Petroleum -1.20%.
- Edison International -1.31%, Constellation Energy -1.29%, American Water Works -0.69% and Alliant Energy -0.61%.
- Huntington Ingalls Industries -1.18%, General Dynamics -1.08%, Axon Enterprise -1.07% and Northrop Grumman -1.06%.
US TSY OPTIONS: Apr'26 10Y Vol Sale
- -4,500 TYJ6 112/113 strangles, 134
