Notes/Observations
Australia Feb Consumer Confidence at 17-month high.
U.S. President Obama reiterates plan to lower deficit through taxes, spending cuts.
S&P Says French banks still vulnerable to market swings.
G7 Currency message seen as mixed.
BOE signals it will not tighten policy in response to higher inflation.
Swiss government imposed capital buffet to offset mortgage risk.
.
German 2-year Schatz yield was highest since last spring.
Italy auction not as impressive as earlier ones this yea,r but sell upper end of range.
Economic Data
(IN) India Jan Trade Balance: -$20.0B v -$ prior; Imports Y/Y: 6.1% v 6.3% prior; Exports Y/Y: +0.8% v -1.9% prior
(DE) Germany Jan Wholesale Price Index M/M: 0.3% v 0.0% prior; Y/Y: 2.3% v 3.2% prior
(FI) Finland Dec Final Retail Sales Volume Y/Y: -1.4% v -1.2% prelim
(NL) Netherlands Jan CPI M/M: 0.0% v 0.1%e; Y/Y: 3.0% v 2.7%e
(NL) Netherlands Jan CPI EU Harmonized M/M: 0.0% v 0.0%e; Y/Y: 3.2% v 3.1%e
(NL) Netherlands Dec Retail Sales Y/Y: -4.1% v -1.5% prior
(TR) Turkey Dec Current Account: -$4.7B v -$5.4Be
(EU) ECB: €27.0M borrowed in overnight loan facility vs. €42.0M prior; €156.9B parked in deposit facility vs. €159.2B prior
(CH) Swiss Jan Producer & Import Prices M/M: -0.1% v 0.0%e; Y/Y: 0.8% v 1.0%e
(SE) Sweden Central Bank (Riksbank) left Repo Rate unchanged at 1.00%
(NO) Norway Q4 GDP Q/Q: 0.4% v 0.4%e; GDP Mainland Q/Q: 0.3% v 0.5%e
(EU) Euro Zone Dec Industrial Production M/M: 0.7% v 0.2%e; Y/Y: -2.4% v -2.3%e
Fixed Income:
(IN) India sold total INR100B vs. INR100B indicated in 3-month and 6-month Bills
(SE) Sweden sold SEK10B in 3-month Bills, yield 0.9880%
(EU) ECB allotted $1.0B in 7-day USD Liquidity Tender at fixed 0.65% vs. $1.0B prior
(CH) Switzerland sold total CHF472M in 2024 and 2037 Bonds
(PL) Poland sold total PLN4.582B vs. PLN3.0-5.0B indicated range in 2015 and 2024 bonds
(IT) Italy Debt Agency (Tesoro) sold total 6.63B vs. €6.75B indicetd in 2015, 2026, 2040 BTP
Sold €3.449B in 2.75% Dec 2015 BTP; Avg Yield 2.30% v 1.85% prior; Bid-to-cover: 1.37x v 1.45x prior
Sold €863M in 4.50% Mar 2026 BTP; Avg Yield 4.55% v 4.75% prior; Bid-to-cover: 1.59x v 1.98x prior
Sold €888M in 5.00% Sept 2040 BTP; Avg Yield 5.07% v 5.43% prior; Bid-to-cover: 1.97x v 1.29x prior
Sold €1.43B in June 2017 floating rate note
(DE) Germany sold €4.31B in new 0.25% March 2015 Schatz; Avg Yield +0.21% v +0.01% prior; Bid-to-cover: 1.8x v 1.5x prior
SPEAKERS/FIXED INCOME/FX/COMMODITIES/ERRATUM
Equities
Indices: FTSE 100 -0.40% at 6,313, DAX +0.10% at 7,665, CAC-40 -0.25% at 3,677, IBEX-35 +0.10% at 8,245, FTSE MIB -0.10% at 16,622, SMI 0.30% at 7,452, S&P 500 Futures +0.10% at 1,517
European equity markets are mixed as traders focus on the movements in EUR/JPY and earning reports. The FTSE 100 has underperformed on ex-dividends, while the Swiss SMI index has outperformed, amid gains in shares of ABB, Holcim and Roche. The peripheral indices are mixed despite the declines being seen in Spanish and Italian government bond yields. European banks are mostly lower led by shares of SocGen. Resource-related companies are mostly higher, in line with the gains being seen in copper prices. Big movers on the session include African Barrick Gold [ABG.UK, -8.5%], Bic [BB.FR, -8%], Crest Nicholson [CRST.UK, +12.5%], Heineken [HEIA.NL, +4%], Gamesa [GAM.ES, +6%], Pagesjaunes [PAJ.FR, -10%] SMA Solar [S92.DE, +9%], SocGen [GLE.FR, -3.5%] and Tullow Oil [TLW.UK, +5%].
Germany movers [SMA Solar +9% (CEO comments on profitability), Wirecard +3.5% (broker commentary); TUI -1.5% (Q1 results)]
UK movers [Crest Nicholson +13% (IPO debut), Tullow Oil +4.5% (FY results), Telecity +4% (FY results),Reckitt Benckiser +1% (Q4, FY results) ; African Barrick Gold -8% (FY12 results), Phoenix IT -4% (profit warning), Astrazeneca -3% (ex-dividend),BP -1.5% (ex-dividend), Shell -1% (ex-dividend)]
France movers [Total flat (Q4 results), Peugeot +2.5% (FY12 results), Lafarge +2.5% (broker commentary), Edenred +2% (FY results) ; Pagesjaunes -11% (FY12 results), Bic -7.5% (Q4 results), SocGen -3% (Q4 results), Saint Gobain -1.5% (broker commentary)]
Italy movers [Lottomatica +2% (FY12 results); Finmeccanica -3% (concerns related to corruption probe)]
Spain movers [Gamesa +6.5% (FY results)]
Switzerland movers [Holcim +2.3% (broker commentary)]
Dutch movers [Heineken +3.5% (FY results); ING -1% (Q4 results)]
Belgium movers [Ablynx +13% (Phase II data presentation)]