Notes/Observations
Venezuela: President Chavez dies; VP Maduro assumes temporary control; Army chief pledges support to Maduro; elections expected in 30 days .
Australia: Q4 GDP inline q/q at 0.6%; y/y at 3.1% vs 3.0%e
PBOC advisor Qian Yingyi: Cannot rule 2013 rate increase but depends on Q1 data.
IMF: Spain must retain reform momentum, risks to Spain economy and financial sector remain elevated.
White House: Obama wants to set up a meeting with both parties on the budget; working on a budget date.
Spain 10-year Govt yield dips below 5% for first time since late February.
Key central bank rate decision over the next 24 hours including BOJ, BOE and ECB.
German borrowing costs fall at 5-year BOBL auction.
Economic Data
(UK) YouGov Citi UK Feb 12-month Inflation Expectation: 2.8% v 2.8% prior
(UK) Feb Halifax House Prices M/M: +0.5% v %+0.2e; 3M/Y: +1.9% v +1.7%e
(RO) Romania Q4 Preliminary GDP Q/Q: 0.1 v 0.2% prior; Y/Y: 0.3 v 0.3% prior
(EU) ECB: €3.5B borrowed in overnight loan facility vs. €3.6B prior; €146.7B parked in deposit facility vs. €142.1B prior
(AT) Austria Feb Wholesale Price Index M/M: 0.6% v 0.3% prior; Y/Y: 1.2% v 1.6% prior
(UK) Feb New Car Registrations: 7.9% v 11.5% prior
(EU) Euro Zone GDP Q4 Preliminary GDP Q/Q: -0.6% v -0.6%e; Y/Y: -0.9% v -0.9%e
(EU) Euro Zone GDP Q4 Preliminary Govt Expenditure Q/Q: -0.1% v -0.2% prior; Gross Fix Capital Q/Q: -1.1 v -0.8% prior; Household Consumption Q/Q: -0.4% v 0.0% prior
(IC) Iceland Feb Preliminary Trade Balance (ISK): 7.6B v 11.6B prior
Fixed Income:
(IN) India sold total INR120B vs. INR120B indicated in 3-month and 12-month Bills.
(RU) Russia sold RUB15.3B in 2023 OFZ Bonds; Yield 6.95%
(SE) Sweden sold SEK3.5B in 10 year bonds; Yield 2.1564% v 2.2102% prior; Bid-to-cover: 1.87x v 1.91x prior
(DE) Germany sold €3.137B in 0.5% 2018 BOBL Notes; Avg Yield 0.45% v 0.68% prior; Bid-to-cover:1.9 x v 1.9x prior
SPEAKERS/FIXED INCOME/FX/COMMODITIES/ERRATUM
Equities
Indices: FTSE 100 +0.40% at 6,455, DAX +1.1% at 7,956, CAC-40 +0.40% at 3.800, IBEX-35 +0.30% at 8,453, FTSE MIB +0.20% at 15,998, SMI +0.30% at 7,741, S&P 500 Futures +0.40% at 1,542
European equity markets are broadly higher, after US stocks hit record highs on Tuesday's session. The Germany DAX has led today's gains, as the index is at multi-year highs. Despite the gains, European banks are trading mixed and underperformers in the sector include Barclays, Standard Chartered and SocGen. Resource related companies are mostly lower, tracking the weakness in oil and copper prices. Markets are currently focusing on Thursday's central bank meetings (ECB and BoE) and Friday's US payrolls report.
UK movers [Bowleven +9.5% (oil find), Admiral Group +5% (raised dividend by 20%), Debenhams +1% (broker commentary),CPP -7% (speculation related to debt-equity swap)]
Germany movers [Lanxess +3% (broker commentary), Deutsche Boerse +1% (renewed takeover speculation); Axel Springer -4% (guided FY13 EBITDA lower)]
France movers [Bourbon +7% (sharp y/y rise in FY profits)]
Spain movers [Sacyr -1.5% (share placement)]
Italy movers [Banco Popolare -0.50% (reported FY loss)]
Switzerland movers [Evolva +13% (investment agreement with Cargill)]