Global yields fall on banks' dovish turn

The 10-year U.S. Treasury remains one of the few major sovereign yields of that duration to remain above 2%, while three currently offer borrowers negative yields. The yield on Greece's 10-year issue fell below Treasury yields in Wednesday's trading after weeks of flirtation. The major central banks have been hinting at rate cuts in recent weeks, which has driven demand for higher-yielding issues now.

Yields in Japanese, German and Swiss 10-year notes were all negative as of Wednesday, with only the Swiss notes offering negative yields on average since July 2016.

Among the consequences for institutional investors are the downward pressure pension fund discount rates will face, which in turn will raise pension liabilities. The overall impact to the pension universe is yet to be seen, and rising liabilities may be washed if asset returns can keep up in a bull market that won't seem to end.