ECB Nowotny Sees Arguments For Giving ESM A Banking LicenseEconomic Data
(FI) Finland June Preliminary Retail Sales Volume Y/Y: 2.4% v 0.2% prior
(FR) France July Business Survey Overall Demand: -24 v -2 prior
(AT) Austria May Industrial Production M/M: 0.7 v 1.0% prior; Y/Y: 2.6% v 1.5% prior
(TH) Thailand Central Bank left its Benchmark Interest unchanged at 3.00%; as expected
(NL) Netherlands July Producer Confidence: -5.2 v -4.7e
(DE) Germany July IFO Business Climate: 103.3 v 104.5e; Current Assessment: 111.6 v 113.0e; Expectations Survey: 95.6 v 96.8e
(IT) Italy July Consumer Confidence Index: 86.5 v 85.0e
(TW) Taiwan June M1 Money Supply Y/Y: 3.2% v 3.2% prior; M2 Money Supply Y/Y: 4.2% v 4.4% prior
(UK) Q2 Advanced GDP Q/Q: -0.7% v -0.2%e; Y/Y: -0.8% v -0.3%e
(UK) May Index of Services M/M: 0.9% v 0.2%e; 3M/3M: 0.5% v 0.3%e
Fixed Income
(IN) India sold total INR120B vs. INR120B indicated in 3-month and 12-month Bills
(RU) Russia sold RUB2.72B vs. RUB15B indicated in 2017 OFZ bond; Yield 7.91% vs. guidance 7.87-7.92%
(EU) ECB allotted $8.0B in 7-Day USD Liquidity Tender at fixed 0.66% vs. $4.3B prior
(EU) ECB allotted €8.5B in 3-Month Tender vs. €20Be
(DE) Germany sold €2.322B in 2.50% July 2044 Bund; Avg Yield 2.17% (record low) v 2.41% prior; Bid-to-cover: x v 1.1x prior
Notes/Observations
EU said to be mulling options to avert a Greek bankruptcy
AUD CPI at 13-year low
Japan registers its smallest trade deficit in 9 months on an adj basis
IMF: China GDP to bottom out in Q2
German IFO Business Climate falls
UK GDP contracts more than expected, blames public holidays and weather
Equities
FTSE 100 +0.10% at 5506, DAX +0.30% at 6408, CAC-40 +0.50% at 3090, IBEX-35 +1.9% at 6067, FTSE MIB +1.5% at 12,540, SMI flat at 6173, S&P 500 Futures +0.20% at 1332
Following the mixed open, European bourses are trading mostly higher. Spain's IBEX-35 has led the gains, as a Spanish official again denied that the country needs a bailout and ECB official Nowotny said there were arguments for allowing the ESM to have a banking license. Additionally, during yesterday's US session a financial press report suggested that the Fed was said to be moving closer to taking steps to support growth, as some officials have become frustrated with the progress of the economy.
In London, the FTSE 100 has lagged, amid the release of weaker than expected Q2 GDP data out of the UK. Most European banks have tracked the overall strength in the equity markets, although shares of Deutsche Bank have underperformed. Miners have traded higher on the rise in commodity prices. In terms of corporate earnings, companies seen reporting during the US morning include Boeing, Bristol-Myers, Caterpillar, Ford, Pepsico and Wellpoint. Following Tuesday's US equity close, shares of Apple declined, as the company reported weaker than expected quarterly results and guidance.
Large Steel maker ArcelorMittal [MT.NL] is higher by ~2%, after reporting Q2 EBITDA results which beat analyst forecasts. In the UK, chipmaker Arm Holdings [ARM.UK] has gained over 4%, as the company reported better than expected quarterly results. Telecom name BT [BT.UK] has lost over 4% after reporting quarterly results which missed analyst expectations. Advertising services company Yell Group [YELL.UK] has declined by over 30% following the release of its Q2 results. In other movers, Tullow Oil [TLW.UK] is lower by ~3% (issued H1 results), British American Tobacco [BATS.UK] has lost ~1% (reported H1 results) and EasyJet [EZJ.UK] is higher by over 3% (issued Q3 sales).
Deutsche Bank [DBK.DE] is lower by over 2%, as the company warned on its Q2 results citing factors including the weaker Euro. Daimler [DAI.DE] is higher by over 3%, supported by better than expected quarterly results. Coming into the Daimler earnings there had been some expectations that the firm could miss analyst estimates. Large polysilicon maker Wacker Chemie [WCH.DE] is lower by~3%, as the company gave a cautious forecast for the FY. Swiss medical supplies company Lonza is higher by over 5%, as the company's H1 results beat analyst expectations.
In other movers in Switzerland, EFG International [EFGN.CH] has gained over 25% on better than expected H1 results, while Meyer Burger's [MBTN.CH] shares have declined by over 3%, as the company reported weaker than expected H1 sales. Automaker Peugeot [UG.FR] is trading higher by over 2% following the release of H1 results. There are also expectations that France could announce its support plan for the auto industry later today. French pushing company PagesJaunes [PAJ.FR] has lost over 4%, after cutting its FY sales forecast. In Spain, utility Iberdrola [IBE.ES] has gained by ~2% on better than expected H1 earnings.