Many bund investors opted to take profits yesterday after equities rose and corporate deals were hedges by selling. Carl Lantz, US interest rate strategist at Credit Suisse in New York, said: "There was some rate-locking activity for corporate issuance which is probably going to be picking up here in the near term. Also, over the course of the day, stocks, which opened weaker, gradually improved, even if the gains were fairly small. The improvement in stocks led the bond market to move in the direction it was already leaning in."