Economic Data
(JP) Japan Feb Convenience Store Sales Y/Y: 4.8% v 1.7% prior
(PH) Philippines Jan Budget Balance (PHP): -15.9B v -101.5B prior
(TH) Thailand Central Bank leaves Benchmark Interest Rate unchanged at 3.00%; as expected
(CH) Swiss Feb M3 Money Supply Y/Y: 6.4% v 7.3% prior
(AT) Austria Jan Producer Price Index M/M: +0.2 v -0.4% prior; Y/Y: 1.9% v 2.2% prior
(NL) Netherlands Feb House Price Index M/M: -0.4 v 0.6% prior; Y/Y: -3.4 v -3.3% prior
(IC) Iceland Central Bank (Sedlabanki) raised the 7-day Lending Rate by 25bps to 5.00%
(NO) Norway Jan AKU Unemployment Rate: 3.2% v 3.3%e
(UK) Feb Public Finances (PSNCR): -£7.8B v -£1.0Be; Public Sector Net Borrowing: +£12.9B v +£5.0Be; PSNB ex Interventions: +£15.2B v +£8.0Be
Fixed Income:
(RU) Russia sold RUB3.0B vs. RUB35.2B in 2019 OFZ Bond; Yield 7.65%
(EU) ECB allotted $1.8B in 7-Day USD liquidity Tender at fixed 0.65% vs. $2.3B prior
(SE) Sweden sold SEK2.5B vs. SEK2.5B indicated in 3.5% 2022 Bonds; Yield 2.143%
(DE) Germany sold €4.108B in 0.25% March 2014 Schatz; Avg Yield 0.31% v 0.25% prior; Bid-to-cover: 1.8x v 1.8x prior
SPEAKERS/FIXED INCOME/FX/COMMODITIES/ERRATUM
Notes/Observations
Fed Chairman Bernanke: Comfortable with easing EU strains but must remain vigilant as contagion risk remains
Treasuries snap longest ever consecutive drop in 10-Year prices. Dealers note that previous episodes have been followed by extended yield compression
UK BOE minutes more dovish than expected as 2 members sought more QE
UK Budget speech key event in NY morning; watch for rating agency reaction
Equities
FTSE 100 +0.20% at 5901, DAX +0.30% at 7074, CAC-40 +0.40% at 3544, IBEX-35 -0.30% at 8543, FTSE MIB -0.40% at 16,893, SMI +0.30% at 6313
European shares gained during the session ahead of US home sales data due out in the NY morning. Investors are anticipating a positive surprise especially after building permits published yesterday, surpassed analysts' estimates. Retailers pushed the shares higher following positive earnings report.
Sainsbury [SBRY.UK] rallied after reporting higher revenue and like-for-like sales for the fourth quarter. Inditex [ITX.ES] also rose after reporting figures that were in line with estimates and raising the dividend payout by 12.5%