One of the hardest-hit corners of the global debt markets is showing signs of revival after being virtually shut down by the coronavirus. Sales of new collateralised-loan obligations, or CLOs, have rebounded sharply over the past six weeks as debt investors resume their reach for higher-yielding, riskier debt.

Global sales of the funds, which borrow money to buy up bundles of “leveraged loans” made to companies with junk credit ratings, hit $4.9bn in the first three weeks of June, the fastest pace since early March, according to data from LevFin Insights/Fitch Solutions.