Bonds tumbled as investor optimism about the economic recovery fueled another drop in Treasury prices and sent some widely held mortgage debt to its fourth decline in five trading days, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The selloff of Treasury bonds slowed, as yields at a 14-month high lured bargain-hunting buyers. But the market remained in the red under the pressure of a looming auction of $35 billion of new bonds and chatter that the Federal Reserve may be on the verge of reducing its support for financial markets via regular monthly bond purchases.