Junk Bonds Suffer Worst Rout Since 2020 With US Hit Hardest (2)

US junk corporate bonds led the biggest slump in global high—yield debt since 2020 as the steepest American tariffs in a century triggered fears about worldwide growth.

The extra yield investors demand to own the risky debt instead of Treasuries widened 45 basis points Thursday to 386 basis points, marking the worst selloff since March 2020 at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the Bloomberg Global High Yield Corporate index shows.

Yield premiums for lower-rated US notes spiked 53 basis points, also the most since March 2020, to 387 basis points, a separate Bloomberg index shows. That move was significantly ...