Equity Kickoff: Crude oil retreats and German industrial production hammers on

European stocks will open higher as crude oil has retreated somewhat and U.S. bank shares soared on Bank of America’s indication that dividends might be raised. Germany will spur further optimism today with stellar industrial production figures

The FTSE 100 index futures are currently up 0.1 percent ahead of the opening. Today the most watched European economic figure is German industrial production (11:00 GMT) expected to come in at 1.7 percent and 11.1 percent on month-over-month and year-over-year respectively. With Brent crude oil prices having retreated to around USD 112 per barrel, today’s German industrial production figures might get more attention and set the direction in Europe.

S&P is out saying it sees more sovereign rating downgrades for European countries in the near future. Sovereign credit markets in peripheral Europe are still under huge pressure and Greece’s 10-year bond yields hit a record 12.8 percent. It all indicates that Europe is still facing some serious issues which could be amplified if the European Central Bank begins to raise rates in April. In U.S. credit markets small signs of looming risk are also evident with the issuance of municipal bonds at the lowest levels in 11 years

source from: tradingfloor