Corporate bond credit spreads widen as investors shun risk

Risk-off sentiment that drove Monday's sell-off on Wall Street and rally in US Treasuries widened credit spreads on corporate bonds to multi-month highs.
 

The spread on the ICE BofA US High Yield Index, a commonly used benchmark for the junk bond market, spiked from 318 basis points on Friday to 344 basis points as of the last update late Monday, its highest level since late March, according to Refinitiv data. It was also the biggest widening in a day since last June.
 

Spreads, the interest rate premium investors demand to hold corporate debt over safer US Treasuries, widened as high-yield