Bonds are rising as stocks suffer February drop. But don’t count on long-term bonds as a cushion.

Bonds are up so far in February, outperforming U.S. stocks as major equities benchmarks appeared on track for a monthly loss with just a few trading days to go until March. 

The iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

AGG, an exchange-traded fund that provides broad exposure to the investment-grade fixed-income market in the U.S., has returned a total 1.8% this month through Tuesday. By contrast, the S&P 500 index SPX has dropped 1.4% so far in February, as investors have digested recent signs of softness in economic data and corporate earnings guidance.