European Market Recap: Stocks & Bonds Up Following Weak EU Conf Figures

Market Updates | Written by CEP News | Jul 30 08 12:00 GMT |

(CEP News) - In the aftermath of sharp declines in confidence indicators for the euro zone, European equity markets are trading higher with the Eurostoxx up 23.29 points on the day and the UK FTSE 100 up 58.80 points to 5378. In Germany, the bund was up 39.0 ticks to 112.03 with yields down 5.9 bps to 4.42% while the 10-year gilt was up 33.0 ticks to 106.95 with yields down 4.1 bps to 4.86%. The euro was up 0.02 cents to 1.559 USD. According to the European Commission on Wednesday, business sentiment in the euro zone declined further than expected in July, as reflected by the business climate indicator falling to -0.21 from June's 0.13 level. Economists had expected a less pronounced fall to -0.02. Meanwhile, June's business climate level was revised down from an initial reading of 0.14. The EU Commission also reported stronger-than-expected falls in all of its euro zone confidence indicators for the month. Against expectations of only a one-point decline, euro zone consumer confidence slipped all the way to -20 in July from June's -17 print. The economic confidence level dropped to 89.5 from 94.8 despite consensus calls for a 93.0 reading. The June economic confidence reading was revised down from 94.9. Meanwhile, the euro zone industrial confidence indicator slipped to -8 in July, down from both the -7 level expected and the -5 figure recorded in the previous month, while the services sentiment indicator fell to 1 following June's reading of 9. There were no major macroeconomic releases from the UK. The five-year Bobl was up 21.5 ticks to 107.02, the two-year Schatz was up 6.0 ticks to 102.85 and the March 2009 Euribor contract was trading up 4.0 ticks to 95.10. The spread between the 10-year Bund and 10-year U.S. Treasury notes widened 4.396 bps to -37.80. UK 30-year bond yields were down 1.5 bps to 4.54%, five-year bond yields were down 5.3 bps to 4.80%, while yields on the two-year bond were down 5.5 bps to 4.82%. The March 2009 Short Sterling contract was up 5.0 ticks to 94.54. Yields on U.S. 10-year Treasury notes were up 0.2 bps to 4.040%. European stock markets were gaining with the Eurostoxx up 23.29 points to 2863.39, the UK FTSE 100 up 58.80 points to 5378 and the German DAX up 33.27 points to 6432.07. The Japanese Nikkei was trading up 208.34 points to 13367.79. The Canadian dollar was up 0.07 cents to 0.9775 against the USD (1.023 USD/CAD). Against the euro, the loonie was up 0.04 cents to 0.6270 (1.5947 CAD/EUR). The U.S. dollar was down 0.24 to 107.86 and the euro was down 0.37 to 168.15, both against the yen. The euro was up 0.02 cents to 1.559 while the pound sterling was up 0.23 cents to 1.9811, both against the USD. The euro was down 0.09 cents to 0.7869 pounds. The Swiss franc was up 0.03 cents to 1.0466 against the USD and up 0.05 cents to 1.6314 against the euro. All data were taken at 7:57 a.m. EDT. Generated by CEP Newswires, edited by Nancy Girgis, ngirgis@economicnews.caThis email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it CEP Newswires - CEP News © 2008. All Rights Reserved. www.economicnews.ca The Copying, Broadcast, Republication or Redistribution of CEP News Content is Expressly Prohibited Without the Prior Written Consent of CEP News. A copy of CEP News disclaimer can be found at http://www.economicnews.ca/cepnews/wire/disclaimer.