BLBG:Euro Weakens as Stocks Pare Gains After Debt Swap; Italian Bonds Advance
The euro weakened and stocks pared gains as Greece said it triggered an option compelling investors to take part in its debt swap. Italian bonds rose, while U.S. index futures were little changed before a payrolls report.
The euro depreciated 0.4 percent to $1.3219 at 7:20 a.m. in New York. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2 percent after climbing 0.4 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures lost less than 0.1 percent. Italy’s 10-year bond yield declined two basis points to 4.78 percent. Copper advanced 0.6 percent.
The Greek government said it reached its target in the biggest sovereign restructuring in history, with a 95.7 percent participation rate among investors after it received approval to activate collective action clauses. American non-farm payrolls probably increased by 210,000 in February, economists said before a Labor Department report today.
“The worst-case scenario of a disorderly default has been cast aside,” said Benoit Peloille, equity-market strategist at Natixis in Paris. “But the long-term solvency question remains. The question of Greece’s future may come up again in the future and other aid packages can’t be ruled out.”
Three shares rose for every two that declined in the Stoxx 600 (SXXP). London Stock Exchange Group Plc rallied 7.8 percent, the most in more than eight months, after agreeing to buy a majority stake in LCH.Clearnet Group Ltd. for 463 million euros ($612 million). Lagardere SCA, France’s largest publisher, tumbled 7.5 percent after its 2012 outlook prompted analysts to cut profit targets.
Bull Market
The S&P 500 has climbed for two days, trimming this week’s decline to 0.3 percent. Texas Instruments Inc. slipped 0.6 percent in German trading as the world’s largest maker of analog semiconductors reduced its first-quarter sales and profit forecasts.
Today is the three-year anniversary of the bull market in U.S. stocks that followed the global financial crisis. The S&P 500 (SPX) has rallied 102 percent from its 12-year low on March 9, 2009, while the MSCI All-Country World Index jumped 91 percent.
The euro depreciated 0.2 percent against the yen and fell 0.3 percent versus the pound. The Dollar Index climbed 0.4 percent, with the U.S. currency appreciating 0.3 percent against the yen.
The extra yield investors get to hold Italian 10-year bonds instead of benchmark German bunds fell five basis points, declining for the third consecutive day. The Spanish 10-year yield slid nine basis points, with the yield on the Irish security due in October 2020 falling three basis points.
Greek Exchange Bonds
Greek government bonds due in February 2023 to be issued after the nation’s debt swap is completed were bid at a price of 24.25 cents on the euro, according to BNP Paribas SA data on Bloomberg. The securities were offered at 26 cents, according to Commerzbank AG. The 2 percent bond had a bid yield of 20.43 percent and an offer rate of 19.42 percent, the data showed.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index (MXEF) advanced 0.8 percent, paring this week’s drop to 1.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) of Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong both advanced 0.8 percent after a report showed consumer prices rose at the slowest pace in almost two years. The BUX Index (BUX) jumped 0.8 percent in Budapest. The BSE India Sensitive Index (SENSEX) rose 2.1 percent as trading resumed after yesterday’s holiday.
Soybeans jumped 1.1 percent before a U.S. Department of Agriculture monthly crop report. Oil gained 0.3 percent to $106.86 a barrel.
To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net; Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong at lthomasson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at swallace6@bloomberg.net
