Yields at Italian Debt Auction Fall, Carrefour Up 5%

Arthi Gupta
12 Jul, 2012
New York City

The European indexes declined after latest statement from the ECB highlighted downside risks and the European industrial production rebounded unexpectedly. Italy sold

[R]2:30 PM Frankfurt – The European indexes declined after latest statement from the ECB highlighted downside risks and the European industrial production rebounded unexpectedly. Italy sold €7.5 billion of debt at lower yields. Peugeot estimated loss in the first-half. Greek jobless rate rose to a record in April.[/R]

European indexes dropped after the European Central Bank said in its monthly bulletin published today that the risks surrounding the economic outlook for the euro area continue to be on the downside.

The latest minutes of meeting from the Fed also dashed hopes of any immediate stimulus measures.

In Paris trading, the CAC-40 Index declined 13.05 or 0.4% to 3,144.49 and in Frankfurt the DAX Index edged lower 46.79 or 0.7% to 6,407.23.

The yields on Spain’s benchmark 10-year bonds declined eight basis points to 6.47%. Italian 10-year yields dropped seven basis points to 5.73%.

Euro-zone Production Improves

Industrial production in euro-zone improved in May, the latest data from Eurostat showed.

Production rose 0.6% on a monthly basis in May, following a 1.1% decrease in April and annually, output fell 2.8%, faster than the 2.4% decline reported in the previous month.

Greek Jobless Rate Surges

Greece''s unemployment rate increased to a record high in April, data released by the Hellenic Statistics Authority showed.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate climbed to 22.5% in April from 22% in March.

Italian Debt Auction

Italy sold €7.5 billion of Treasury bills at an average yield of 2.697% compared to an average yield of 3.972% at the last auction on June 13. The bid-to-cover ratio declined to 1.55 from 1.73 last month.

Gainers & Losers

Carrefour SA soared 4.6% to €13.80 after the retailer said second quarter sales, including value added tax decreased 0.3% to €21.7 billion.

itelligence AG fell 0.7% to €6.55 after the information technology services provider reported second quarter revenues soared 25.2% to €98.4 million from the prior-year period.

For the first half, revenues surged 25.4% to €192.5 million from a year earlier.

Peugeot SA declined 0.9% to €7.17 after the French carmaker estimated a net loss for first-half of the year and the reduction of 3,600 jobs across all of its facilities in France.

Renault SA climbed 1.6% to €32.77 after the French car maker said first-half sales declined 3.3% to 1.3 million vehicles worldwide.

Suedzucker AG gained 1% to €27.95 after the agricultural raw materials processor reported first quarter group revenues climbed 15% to €1.89 billion from a year-ago quarter. Net earnings in the quarter soared 102% to €263 million from €130 million in the prior year boosted by the extraordinary tax result of €76 million.

Wilex AG fell 2.3% to €3.84 after the biopharmaceutical company said first-half sales revenue surged 426% to €7.21 million from the prior-year period. Net loss in the period narrowed 47% to €5.61 million from €10.62 million last year.