Weak note auction hurts bond prices.

A tepid note auction weighed on the government bond market Tuesday, while the stock market traded down slightly.

The Treasury auctioned $16 billion of two-year notes at a yield of 4.26%. This was 1 basis point above where the issue was trading at the auction deadline on a when-issued basis.

Bidding 'Thin' and 'Sloppy'

"The bidding was thin, and the bidding was sloppy," said Ward McCarthy, a managing director at Stone & McCarthy Research Associates.

The two-year note yield was 4.21% late Tuesday, up from 4.18% Monday. The 10-year note was at 5.90%, down 1 basis point. And the 30-year was yielding 6.68%, unchanged.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished at 3565,65, down 2.24 points. Observers said weakness was due to profit taking after Monday's record close. and to sharp losses in steel stocks after the International Trade Commission ruled on several dumping charges.

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