Abdullah Karatash

Stocks struggled lightly in the red even as oil closed above $104 a barrel; that stocks did not sell off more was surprising.

Corporate cash bonds felt heavy in the secondary market with an onslaught of new issues today.

CDS (credit default swap) spreads were slightly wider as investors set new short risk positions in the post-roll contracts but flows remain relatively light in CDS.

Treasury bonds sold off in the morning only to close more or less unchanged on the day; Fed chairman Bernanke speaks at noon.

Middle East headlines continue to affect the markets.

In Europe, many will be watching to see whether Portugal's government survives the day tomorrow.

Paris-based pharmaceutical Sanofi-Aventis sold a $7 billion benchmark dollar issue in multiple parts to fund its purchase of Genzyme.

Pricing is reported to be as follows: $1 billion 1yr FRN L+5, $1 billion 2yr FRN L+20, $750 million 3yr FRN L+35, $750 million 3yr Fixed T+55, $1.5 billion 5yr Fixed T+70 and $2 billion 10yr Fixed T+80.

In the Sanofi issue, pricing came out 5 bps tighter compared to the initial price talk which is testament to how much risk dealers agreed to support.

Chemicals company Du Pont sold $2 billion in a four-part offering: $600 million 3 year FRN L+42, $400 million 3 year at +65, $500 million 5 year at +75, and $500 million 10 year at +95.

Norwegian DNB Nor Boligkreditt sold a $2 billion benchmark 5 year covered bond issue (mid-swaps +66 and T+89.5).

Canadian Bank of Nova Scotia sold $1 billion 5 year senior unsecured at +90.