- Spanish bad bank loans dropped 100bp to 10.4 per cent in December
- Banks deposited 131.9bn euros overnight at the ECB

FTSE-100: -0.16%
Dax-30: 0.08%
Cac-40: -0.36%
FTSE Mibtel 30: -0.51%
Ibex 35: -1.04%
Stoxx 600: -0.36%

European equities are now trading in a mixed fashion, little changed in the core countries but with larger falls in some periphery countries.

That comes ahead of an auction of medium and long-term debt, by the Spanish Treasury, this next Thursday, and Italian elections next weekend. As regards the latter, Credit Suisse indicated on Monday morning that "while all recent polls have continued to support a relatively reassuring central scenario for markets - a victory of the pro-European centre-left, probably able to form a government with the support of Mario Monti's centrists - there are several alternative and sub-scenarios that cannot be dismissed. These imply that the Italian elections remain a significant risk event."

Acting as a backdrop, this past weekend's summit of G-20 finance ministers refrained from criticising the expansionary monetary policies undertaken recently by Japan.

Not to be lost sight of either, investors will be closely watching the flow of economic releases and policy speeches this week, Stateside, so as to better gauge where monetary policy in the world's largest economy is headed next.

Carlsberg looses its fizz

Danish brewer Carlsberg has announced fourth quarter earnings of 2.15bn kroner (£249m) from 1.83bn kroner in the same period a year earlier. That was, nevertheless, quite a bit less than what analysts had been forecasting.

Shares of French investment bank Natixis are jumping by 19% after unveiling a €2bn pay-out.

UBS has cut Novozymes to sell from neutral.

From a sector stand-point the worst performers today are: Basic Resources (-0.89%), Technology (-0.62%) and Oil&gas (-0.61%).

Eurozone current account
The Eurozone's current account surplus for the month of December has come in at €27bn, versus €20.8bn a year ago.

Other asset classes mixed
The euro/dollar is now falling by 0.08% to the 1.3350 dollar mark.

Front month crude futures are now edging higher by 0.110 dollars to the 117.79 dollar per barrel mark on the NYMEX.



AB

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