European markets were mixed and mostly flat to end their Wednesday sessions as economic news and indicators were mixed.
The Stoxx Europe 600 dropped about half a point, or 0.02%. The FTSE 100 rose approximately 0.2%, the DAX climbed about one-third of a percent, and the CAC 40 fell 0.2%, but the IBEX of Spain was the only index to make a major move, falling 1.34% on the day.
Greece announced on Wednesday that they are close to coming to an agreement with private holders of its debt; under the plan now proposed, lenders would give Greece about 0.32 / Euro of debt they hold.
The World Bank cut its global economic growth estimates from 3.6% to 2.5%, stating that risks in Europe would have a dramatic impact in the rest of the world. The German government also cut its own growth estimates by about 0.3 percent; it is estimated that Germany’s economy will grow by only 0.7% as opposed to the 1% that had been previously forecast.
Bond Sales throughout Europe were fairly positive. In Germany, 2-year notes were sold at their lowest rate ever, averaging at a yield of 0.134%. In Portugal, the nation sold €2.5 billion worth of three, six, and eleven-month bonds in what had been its biggest auction since last year. The 11-month treasury note averaged a yield of about 4.986%, much lower than the last 11-month auction which averaged 5.902%.
In commodities, Brent crude decreased 0.88% to trade at 110.55. Gas oil also fell 1.44%, now at 939.50. Light sweet crude oil remains hovering around the 100.00 per barrel mark. This decline in energy future prices comes as the Obama Administration in the United States is set to turn down an oil pipeline deal with Canada.
As for metals, gold and copper both rose slightly on Wednesday by 0.35% and 0.7%, respectively. Gold currently trades at over 1,660.00.
Finally, in Currencies, the Euro gained versus the US Dollar to move to the 1.2825 USD level, while the British Pound Sterling also gained against the dollar to trade around 1.5409 USD.
