Bond Brief: Rally Hits Snow Storm

Updated from 11:06 a.m. EDT

Treasuries eked out slim gains Wednesday as employment data became the market's sole obsession ahead of Friday's March payrolls report.

On Thursday, the Labor Department will release a reading on weekly jobless claims, and Wall Street expects the number to hold steady at 305,000. The report will be closely watched for evidence that hiring is weakening, particularly in light of Wednesday's ISM report.

The March ISM non-manufacturing sector index came in at 60.5 from 60.1 in the previous month, defying expectations for a slight dip to 59.0. But beyond the headline number, the employment component fell to 54.6 from February's 58.2. ...