Treasury yields fall as investors crowd into bonds for safety amid election stock sell-off

Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images

Treasury yields fell as investors sought shelter from a sell-off in equity futures sparked by potential big victories from Democrats in the U.S. midterm elections.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield dropped nearly 5 basis points to 4.902%. The 30-year bond yield slid 5.29%, and the shorter-term 2-year note yield pulled back 6 basis points to 4.55%.

One basis point equals 0.01%, or 1/100th of 1%, and yields and prices move inversely to one another.

Democrats are projected to win the House, according to a CNBC Election Desk projection. And while the Senate was still up for grabs, Democrats have already flipped a seat in North Carolina, with former Gov. Roy Cooper projected to win.

Stock futures fell sharply as election results rolled in. Contracts tied to to the S&P 500 shed 1.1%, and Nasdaq-100 futures slid 2%. AI-related shares, which have led the bull market, paced the overnight decline on fear Democrats would slow the data center buildout.