2012.06.01 17:52:18 MARKET TALK: Munis Gaining Ground, But Still Lag Treasurys

11:52 (Dow Jones) After the weak US jobs data, munis are seeing "some of the strongest performance of the week," says Thomson Reuters Municipal Market Data, but munis are still lagging the Treasury rally. MMD's benchmark scale shows yields on top-rated munis are flat to down as much as 5 basis points, with bonds maturing in 2019-2042 faring best. As an indication of the stronger muni market, MMD notes some bonds from a $600M Virginia transportation sale Thursday are trading at lower yields. For instance, there was a $10M trade of some 2023 bonds from the sale at yields of 2.22%. They priced Thursday at 2.25%. (kelly.nolan@dowjones.com) Call us at (212) 416-2354 or email kevin.kingsbury@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 01, 2012 11:52 ET (15:52 GMT)