European shares show broad‐based gains today after the new Greek government suggested it is no longer seeking to write off debt. Greek shares gain more than 10%, elsewhere European stocks trade about 1% higher. US Equities opened significantly higher too, supported by a further rebound in the oil price.
For the first time ever, the German 10‐yr yield dropped below the Japanese 10‐yr yield, suggesting that investors believe the disinflationary forces in Europe are not just transitory. In Japan, the 10‐yr yield rose sharply today after a government bond auction met with the weakest demand since July 2013.
Three of Greece’s four major banks have tapped emergency funding from the Greek central bank after depositors withdrew their money due to political uncertainty, Reuters reports quoting sources familiar with the situation. The ECB, which approved the emergency funding line for two weeks is due to reassess the situation tomorrow.
The number of registered jobless in Spain rose in January by 78 000 people from a month earlier, slightly less than expected. It was the smallest increase since January since 2007, signalling that the favourable trend in unemployment and job creation continued at the start of the new year.
The Danish central bank reported that it sold DK106.3B in January to defend the EUR/DKK peg. Additionally, they cut the deposit rate three times the past month and suspended government bond issue for this year.
Turkey’s central bank has defied pressure from the government to hold an emergency meeting to cut interest rates. The central bank said inflation indicators continued to improve and confirmed that it would assess developments in its regular interest rate meeting scheduled for February 24. The lira strengthened slightly today.
This non-exhaustive information is based on short-term forecasts for expected developments on the financial markets. KBC Bank cannot guarantee that these forecasts will materialize and cannot be held liable in any way for direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this document or its content. The document is not intended as personalized investment advice and does not constitute a recommendation to buy, sell or hold investments described herein. Although information has been obtained from and is based upon sources KBC believes to be reliable, KBC does not guarantee the accuracy of this information, which may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions and estimates constitute a KBC judgment as of the data of the report and are subject to change without notice.
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