The high-yield rally continued over the past week as retail funds reported large inflows for the second consecutive week and oil prices pushed higher as investors continue to gain confidence around the health of the global economy. The yield and spread on the Bank of America High-Yield Index (BAML) tightened 19bps and 26bps, respectively, now trading tight to where we opened the year and 170bps and 93bps off of the 2016 highs.

High-yield retail mutual and exchange traded funds reported in flows of $1.8 billion over the past week, the fourth consecutive weekly inflow for a total inflow of $9.6 billion over the span. Year to date inflows now stand at $4.4 billion. Issuance was steady over the past week with seven deals for $6.13 billion pricing, making it the busiest week year to date as market sentiment improved. 30 deals for $18.755 billion have priced year to date.

The Bank of America Merrill Lynch High Yield Index monitors the performance of below investment grade U.S. dollar-denominated corporate bonds publicly issued in the U.S. domestic market.  Index data sourced from Bloomberg. BAML HY represents the index yield for the designated date, while return/change represent the index return for the period ending date. Yield referenced is the yield-to-worst and spread referenced is the spread-to-worst.