By Akane Otani 

U.S. Treasury yields headed lower Wednesday for a second consecutive day as global stocks came under selling pressure.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was recently at 3.154%, according to Tradeweb, compared with 3.158% Tuesday.

Yields, which rise as bond prices fall, slipped overnight as European shares ticked lower. They then held on to their declines after data showed U.S. housing starts fell more than expected in September, adding to what has been a streak of disappointing data for the housing sector.

Housing starts declined 5.3% in September from the prior month, according to the Commerce Department, more than the 4.8% that economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected. Residential building permits also fell from the prior month, surprising economists who had been projecting them to rise in September.

"This is a broadly disappointing read for the housing market, but hardly surprising," said Jon Hill, rates strategist at BMO Capital Markets, in an email.

Later on in the trading session, analysts and investors will be awaiting the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's Sept. 25-26 meeting.

The minutes can sometimes give analysts a deeper sense of how Fed officials view the economy, as well as the central bank's rate-increase plans. Mr. Hill added that he would also be looking for "incremental clarity as to the [FOMC's] level of angst about the real estate sector."

Write to Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 17, 2018 10:05 ET (14:05 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.