Treasuries Make A Slow Move Up While Stocks Stay On Fast Track.

Byline: By, Investor's Daily

By Reuters U.S. Treasury prices eked out the slimmest of gains Friday after surging stock markets frustrated a rally sparked by employment data that showedsofter-than-expected job growth and tame wage pressures. Prices sprang into the plus column in the morning after the Labor Department issued a report showing the nation's tight labor markets had eased a touch in February and thatinflation pressures remain subdued. C R E D I TM A R K E T S But those gains were swiftly erased as the jobs report sent equities sharply higher, feeding the bond market's expectations that rising stock prices will fan strong consumer demand, triggering more Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 202 points, or 2.0%, while the technology heavy Nasdaq index was up 160 points, or 3.4%. "The more the equity market thumbs its nose at the Fed chairman, the more he is going to have to raise rates in the end. That should be a negative for bonds," said Patrick Dimick, Treasury market strategist at Warburg Dillon Read LLC. The Fed is concerned that the wealth effect derived from soaring stock valuations is fueling consumer demand that could spur inflation and sabotage the economic expansion. And while the bond market found some relief in the government's report that nonfarm payrolls grew by only 43,000 jobs in February - far below an expected 206,000 - after January's hefty rise of 384,000, ...