Markets falter as focus remains on Spain

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Markets falter as focus remains on Spain

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Market trading proved volatile Friday as investors continued to fret over Spain.

28 September,2012 06:39 pm

Trading is often complicated at the quarters end as it is the deadline for certain trades and agreements to be settled. This sometimes involves buying and selling large amounts of stocks at the last minute in order to make a profit on a deal.It is end week, end month and end quarter, said Neil MacKinnon, global macro strategist at VTB Capital. Investors are alert to impending year-end.Investors also remained cautious over Spain, a day after the countrys government announced big spending cuts it hopes will convince potential bailout creditors and investors it has a rock-solid plan to heal its public finances.The positive momentum generated by Thursdays Spanish budget ground to a halt Friday as investors waited for the results of stress test results into 14 of the countrys banks, which are due after European markets close. Rating agency Moodys is also expected to pronounce on its view on Spains creditworthiness. There are concerns that the agency will downgrade Spains government debt to junk status.Craig Erlam, markets analyst at Alpari, said a downgrade to junk status could create some panic among holders of Spanish debt that could prompt a sell off and force yields higher.The positive side to this is this could accelerate the bailout request, Erlam said. The other 16 countries that use the euro and the European Central Bank are prepared to help Spain financially, should it need it, but Madrid has so far put off a request.By midday in Europe, shares were mixed, with Madrids IBEX index underperforming its peers. The IBEX was trading 1.6 percent lower at 7,712. Elsewhere, Germanys DAX was 0.4 percent lower at 7,261 while the CAC-40 in France fell 1 percent to 3,404. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares 0.1 percent lower at 5,775.Wall Street was posed for a slightly lower open, too, with both Dow futures and the S&P 500 futures down 0.4 percent.On Thursday, the Spanish government said it planned to cut overall spending by €40 billion ($51 billion) in 2013, a move that won a generally positive response in financial markets. Many investors think the cuts will lay the ground for Spain, the fourth largest economy in the eurozone, to seek financial help from fellow countries in the bloc and the European Central Bank.Earlier this month, the ECB announced a new bond-buying plan largely designed to keep a lid on Spains borrowing costs. However, Spain would first have to ask for financial aid from fellow eurozone countries.Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has balked at doing so, partly because it could require new austerity cuts. The hope is that the new budget measures are enough to stem any further requirements in the event of a request for help.Yesterdays news was clearly a move to forestall the kind of punitive measures we saw imposed on Greece and others, said Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG.Other financial markets were fairly subdued, with the euro up 0.1 percent at $1.2922 and a barrel of oil up 12 cents at $91.99.Earlier in Asia, stocks had been buoyed by speculation that Chinas central bank will act soon to help the worlds No. 2 economy.Hong Kongs Hang Seng Index rose 0.4 percent to 20,840.38. South Koreas Kospi added nearly 0.4 percent to 1,996.21. But Japans Nikkei 225 index lost 0.9 percent to 8,870.16, sinking on a government report that showed industrial production fell a further 1.3 percent in August.Mainland Chinese shares rose ahead of an extended holiday next week. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.5 percent to 2,086.17 and the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.9 percent to 853.83.Benchmark oil for November delivery was up 41 cents to $92.26 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.87 to finish at $91.85 on the Nymex on Thursday.In currencies, the euro rose to $1.2934 from $1.2917 late Thursday in New York. The dollar fell to 77.59 yen from 77.62 yen.