OPTIONS: Expiries for Mar05 NY cut 1000ET (Source DTCC)

• Decent gilt auction with solid bid-to-cover and the LAP (lowest accepted price) coming in higher than any time in the last 45 minutes of the bidding window.
• Following the results the 4.75% Oct-35 gilt has hit a new intraday high (currently 101.292 at writing) and helped to pull gilt futures around 7 ticks higher.

Politico reports that the House of Representives will vote on the rule for the five-bill government funding package and DHS spending patch at 11:15 ET 16:15 GMT, with a final vote tentatively scheduled for 13:00 ET 18:00 GMT.

• The rule vote is trickiest part of the process for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as it is not likely to receive any Democrat support. The Republican majority provides just a single-vote cushion if all members are present and voting, after Johnson yesterday swore-in Deocratic Rep Christian Menefee (D-TX), who won a Special Election on Saturday. 
• However, as noted in previous bullet (US: Vote To End US Govt Shutdown Expected Today) two Republican hardliners signalled yesterday they would back the rule, after meeting with President Trump at the White House.
• If the rule passes, and the measure will advances to a final vote, there is likely to be a contingent of Democrat votes to offset any Republican defections.