Getting bond quotes and general information about a bond issue is considerably more difficult than researching a stock or a mutual fund. A major reason for this is that there is not a lot of individual investor demand for the information; most bond information is thus available only through higher-level tools that are not accessible to the average investor.
Stock market research is fairly accessible through a variety of financial news websites, such as Yahoo!, Morningstar, Zach's, and other research firms. Investors looking to see how an individual company or exchange-traded fund (ETF) performed in its last quarter and what that might mean for the underlying stock price have many news sources, both on and offline. A number of financial news programs report on stock market fluctuations, including news and events moving the markets. But bond market information is less frequently reported and is less readily accessible to non-institutional investors. Nonetheless, there are a few options for getting some basic information.
Key Takeaways
- Getting stock market information is fairly easy for investors, as there are a number of financial news sites and stock and fund trackers that provide information.
- Getting bond market quotes is much harder, as there are fewer online locations devoted to bond market information and less bond market information available publicly.
- Having a paid brokerage account gives a user access to that company's research tools. However, there is also free research available at more stock-oriented financial news sites such as Yahoo!.
- Going to a company's official web site and clicking on the investors' section will often yield more information as well.
Tools Available for Bond Market Research
In most cases, if you have a brokerage account, you will have access to that firm's research tools, which may include bond quotes and other information. This is the first place that you should look when seeking bond information.
However, there are also free tools available that provide some basic information. One such resource is the Yahoo! Bond Center, which offers several tools that allow individuals to search for a specific bond or scan for a bond that meets an individual's specific investment needs.
For example, say you have a Ford Motor Co. (F) bond that matures in June 2020. Go to the Yahoo! Bond Center and enter Ford Motor into the "Bond Lookup" tool on the left of the screen; this will bring up a list of Ford Motor bonds. Look for your bond in the list (it may help to use some of the sorting features, such as maturity), and once you find it, click the name of the bond. This will take you to a quote that includes the bond's current price, the coupon rate, the yield to maturity (YTM), the bond rating, and other pertinent information.
While the Yahoo! Bond Center is a free tool that allows individual investors to access bond quotes, it is limited in that it does not give you the volume of bonds that trade hands or a bid-ask spread, making it difficult to measure the true price of the bond.
To learn more, check out our Bond Basics tutorial and the Reading Financial Tables tutorial.
FAQs
In most cases, if you have a brokerage account, you will have access to that firm's research tools, which may include bond quotes and other information. This is the first place that you should look when seeking bond information.
How to quote bond prices? ›
Bonds are quoted as a percentage of their $1,000 or $100 face value. 7 For example, a quote of 95 means the bond is trading at 95% of its initial face value. Face value quotes allow you to easily calculate the bond's dollar price by multiplying the quote by the face value.
What price do bond dealers quote? ›
The flat price is generally the quoted price between bond dealers. It does not include any interest accrued between the scheduled coupon payments for the bond.
Where can I track the bond market? ›
You can check corporate bond trading activity—and thus liquidity—with FINRA's Market Data Center.
How to quote Treasury bonds? ›
Unlike corporate bonds, which are quoted in eighths of a percent, government securities are split into units of 32nds. A price quote of 98-11 refers to a price of 98 11/32% of par value, or 98.34375% of par. If the Treasury bond had a par value of $1,000, then the bond would sell for $983.44.
Where can I get bond quotes? ›
In most cases, if you have a brokerage account, you will have access to that firm's research tools, which may include bond quotes and other information. This is the first place that you should look when seeking bond information.
Do bond dealers quote flat or full price? ›
Key Takeaways
Flat bond prices are typically quoted in American markets, while the full price is more common in European markets. A bond can also be quoted as a flat bond if no interest is presently due, if it is in default, or if it settles on the same date as the interest payment date.
How do you estimate the price of a bond? ›
How to Price a Bond
- Calculate Expected Cash Flow. Next, calculate cash flows using the bond's face value, annual coupon, and maturity date. ...
- Discount the Expected Cash Flow to the Present. After calculating cash flow, discount the expected cash flow to the present. ...
- Value the Various Cash Flows.
For U.S. Treasury purchases traded with a Fidelity representative, a flat charge of $19.95 per trade applies. A $250 maximum applies to all trades, reduced to a $50 maximum for bonds maturing in one year or less. Rates are for U.S. dollar-denominated bonds; additional fees and minimums apply for non-dollar bond trades.
Who sets the market price of a bond? ›
Dealers also sometimes use economic models to help them determine the market price of a municipal bond. These models take into account several measures such as credit quality, interest rates, industry sector, call provisions, time to maturity and others.
Should I only buy bonds when interest rates are high? There are advantages to purchasing bonds after interest rates have risen. Along with generating a larger income stream, such bonds may be subject to less interest rate risk, as there may be a reduced chance of rates moving significantly higher from current levels.
What are current bond prices? ›
U.S. Treasurys
| SYMBOL | YIELD | CHANGE |
|---|
| US 1-YR | 5.169 | +0.017 |
| US 2-YR | 4.806 | -0.013 |
| US 3-YR | 4.601 | -0.015 |
| US 5-YR | 4.44 | -0.018 |
9 more rowsAnswer: Now may be the perfect time to invest in bonds. Yields are at levels you could only dream of 15 years ago, so you'd be locking in substantial, regular income. And, of course, bonds act as a diversifier to your stock portfolio.
How much is a $100 savings bond worth after 30 years? ›
How to get the most value from your savings bonds
| Face Value | Purchase Amount | 30-Year Value (Purchased May 1990) |
|---|
| $50 Bond | $100 | $207.36 |
| $100 Bond | $200 | $414.72 |
| $500 Bond | $400 | $1,036.80 |
| $1,000 Bond | $800 | $2,073.60 |
Similar to how corporate bonds are quoted, US Government debt is quoted in percentage of par format. However, instead of eighths, US Government securities are quoted in 32nds. Government bonds are quoted in 32nds because the market is larger and has more price changes.
How much does a $1000 T bill cost? ›
To calculate the price, take 180 days and multiply by 1.5 to get 270. Then, divide by 360 to get 0.75, and subtract 100 minus 0.75. The answer is 99.25. Because you're buying a $1,000 Treasury bill instead of one for $100, multiply 99.25 by 10 to get the final price of $992.50.
Why are bond prices quoted in 32nds? ›
Government bonds are quoted in 32nds because the market is larger and has more price changes. When a bond can be quoted in 32nds, there are more possible prices the bond can trade at. US Government debt quotes will look different, but the process of converting them to a price is the same as with corporate bonds.
What is the selling price of a $1000 bond if the quoted price is 97? ›
If the face value of the bond is $1,000 and the quoted price is 97, it means that the bond will sell at 97% of the par value. It can be because the market interest rate would have been higher than the stated interest rate. In such a case bonds sell at a discount. So the bond will sell for $1,000 X 97% = $970.
How are bond yields quoted? ›
The yield basis is a method of quoting the price of a fixed-income security as a yield percentage, rather than as a dollar value. This allows bonds with varying characteristics to be easily compared. The yield basis is calculated by dividing the coupon amount paid annually by the bond purchase price.
