German bunds fall as oil rises while S&P 500 futures stay lower
By Bloomberg
German bunds fell as consumer prices in the region signaled an easing of deflation risks while oil extended its biggest monthly gain since 2009. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures and the dollar stayed lower after the U.S. economy grew at a slower pace than earlier estimated.
The yield on 10-year German securities jumped two basis points to 0.32 percent at 8:33 a.m. in New York. The euro gained 0.3 percent to $1.1228 and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed. S&P 500 futures lost 0.1 percent and the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.3 percent. The lira fell to a record as Turkey’s economy minister said the government should discuss changing central bank regulations. Brent crude rose 1.5 percent.
Prices in Germany and Spain fell less than forecast, and Italy’s inflation was 0.1 percent this month, better than the minus 0.3 percent rate predicted. A bigger-than-forecast increase in U.S. core inflation sent the dollar soaring on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled this week that while inflation is still too low for an imminent rate increase, the bank’s patience has limits.
“After such a great start to the year for risky assets, the potential for a correction is rising,” said Alessandro Bee, a strategist at Bank J Safra Sarasin AG in Zurich. “All the good news of the past few months has been priced in. The big problem is that everything is expensive at the moment. But investors are still on the hunt for yield.”
U.S. fourth-quarter economic growth was 2.2 percent annualized rate, down from an initial estimate of 2.6 percent while higher than the 2 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
‘Nothing Negative’
“The GDP number is similar to the rest of what’s been going on this week -- as long as it’s nothing negative, the market is unlikely to pull back meaningfully,” Michael James, a Los Angeles-based managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities Inc., said in a phone interview. “We’re likely to continue to grind higher, or at worst take a pause from the uptrend.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one-basis points to 2.02 percent.
Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Thursday that the Fed Open Market Committee should remove its pledge to be ‘‘patient’’ in raising rates in March to give it flexibility to tighten policy as soon as June. The central bank has kept key rates near zero since 2008.
Rate Outlook
San Francisco Fed President John Williams, who votes on policy this year, expects inflation to return to the central bank’s target level of 2 percent by the end of 2015, and advocated for raising borrowing costs before then.
French bonds declined with Germany’s, pushing 10-year yields higher for the first time in six days as they climbed two basis points to 0.59 percent.
U.K. gilts also fell, sending 10-year yields four basis points higher to 1.78 percent. The yield has climbed 45 basis points in February, the first increase since September, after the Bank of England signaled it may raise interest rates sooner than is priced into the market.
Italian bonds rose for a second day, pushing the 10-year yield three basis points lower to 1.32 percent. That’s the lowest relative to German bunds, Europe’s benchmark sovereign securities, since May 2010. The securities are rallying as the prospect of the European Central Bank’s imminent 1.1 trillion euro ($1.2 trillion) stimulus plan suppresses borrowing costs.
IAG SA added 2.8 percent after the company, the parent of British Airways, said full-year earnings surged 81 percent. Lloyds Banking Group Plc advanced 1.5 percent. Britain’s largest mortgage lender said it will resume dividend payments after reporting its first annual profit in five years.
Gap Gains
In the U.S., Gap Inc., the clothing retailer, added 2.3 percent after fourth-quarter profit beat estimates. Apparel retailer Ross Stores Inc. gained 3.1 percent after announcing a buyback and boosting its dividend.
J.C. Penney Co. plunged 11 percent after the department- store chain yesterday said it expects free cash flow to be flat this year, from $57 million in 2014. Analysts had forecast free cash flow of $25.4 million for the current fiscal year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index declined 0.2 percent, trimming February’s gain to 3.2 percent, the biggest monthly increase since May.
Lira Slides
The lira dropped 0.6 percent after falling as much as 0.9 percent to 2.5273 per dollar. Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said the Central Bank of Turkey’s independence should be conditional on the body taking ‘‘national interest” into account.
South Africa’s rand slid 0.8 percent, the most among emerging markets, after the country’s trade deficit widened in January to the largest since at least 2010.
Russia’s ruble headed for its best-ever monthly advance as oil gained and the adversaries in the Ukraine conflict began pulling back heavy weapons. While the currency slipped 0.6 percent on Friday, its up 13 percent in February. The dollar- denominated RTS index of stocks dropped 1.4 percent, trimming this month’s rally to 22 percent, the best performance worldwide.
The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.4 percent, bringing this month’s gain to 3.1 percent, before the start of the annual National People’s Congress meeting next week. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slipped 0.3 percent today.
India’s S&P BSE Sensex added 1.7 percent, erasing its decline in February. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government presents its first full-year federal budget tomorrow.
The cost of insuring European corporate bonds is heading for the biggest monthly decline since October 2013, with the Markit iTraxx Europe Index of credit-default swaps on investment-grade companies down 11 basis points to a more than seven-year low of 49 basis points, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Coca-Cola Bonds
Coca-Cola Co. sold 8.5 billion euros of bonds in euros Thursday, the biggest sale by a U.S. issuer and bringing this week’s euro borrowing by American companies including Oreo cookies maker Mondelez International Inc. to an all-time high.
Sweden’s krona rose against all of its 16 major peers after a report showed gross domestic product grew 1.1 percent in the fourth quarter from the period before, versus economist estimates for a 0.5 percent increase. The currency climbed 0.3 percent to 9.3874 per euro.
Brent crude, the benchmark for more than half the world’s oil, climbed 89 cents to $60.94 a barrel in London and is up 15 percent this month. The market will rebalance in the next several months as consumption gains and supply is curbed, according to the International Energy Agency, while Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said this week that demand is growing.
West Texas Intermediate climbed 1.9 percent to $49.10 a barrel in New York after tumbling 5.5 percent on Thursday. WTI’s discount to Brent crude widened to the most in 13 months after a report Wednesday showed U.S. crude supplies rose to the highest level since at least 1982.
Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention.
Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis.
By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more.
You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper
Thank you!