Among taxable bonds, corporate bond funds lost 3.7 percent - their first loss in more than 20 years.

The most pronounced gains came among bonds with longer maturities.

But there were few price changes among Treasury notes and bonds yesterday.

But so far, the pickings among defaulted bonds have been poor.

The bulk of the day's price drop was felt among longer-term notes and bonds.

Gains among secondary tax-exempt municipal bonds were not so large.

They choose the fund's 300 or so issues mostly from among American investment-grade bonds.

The bulk of the day's gains were recorded among longer-term bonds and notes.

Analysts said that the technical condition of the market was good right now, particularly among longer-term bonds.

The early February sale is expected to be divided among 3-year notes, 10-year notes and 30-year bonds.