Spanish bank lifeline rally fades out

A stocks and euro rally on news Spain will get up to 100 billion euros ($125 billion) in eurozone loans for its troubled banks fizzled out on Monday, with Spanish and Italian borrowing costs rising further. After posting solid gains early in the day, London's FTSE 100 index closed essentially unchanged at 5,423.37 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 edged up by 0.17 percent to 6,141.05 points and the French CAC 40 fell by 0.27 percent to 3,042.76 points. Madrid's IBEX 35 advanced almost six percent in early trade, but gave it all back to close down 0.54 percent at 6,516.4 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB index was the biggest loser, down 2.79 percent at 13,071 points The euro initially rallied to $1.2671 -- its highest level since May 23 -- in Asian trade. But Europe's single currency later stood at $1.2505, down from $1.2514 late Friday. Asian equities had rebounded sharply earlier in the day, with Tokyo up 1.96 percent and Hong Kong 2.44 percent higher. "The markets have whimpered to the finish line today after a bout of knee jerk euphoria post the announcement of the Spanish banking bailout," said Kathleen Brooks at Forex.com. She said "the markets haven't perceived the bailout as way to reduce credit risk in the periphery," with investors concerned their claims may be lower down the pecking order in the event of a Spanish default. "Also relief concerning Spain's banking rescue could be rather short lived with Greek elections now less than a week away and expected to take centre stage once again very soon," commented analyst Markus Huber at ETX Capital. It looked like Italy might become a target of speculation as the yield on 10-year Italian bonds briefly broke above the market-critical level of six percent in late European trading. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped after initially showing gains, and was off by 0.23 percent to 12,525.78 points in midday trading. The broad-market S&P 500 was down 0.28 percent to 1,321.90, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite edged 0.23 percent lower to 2,851.87. Brent oil prices for July dropped 30 cents to $99.17 per barrel. In earlier Asian trade, the contract had spiked to $102.21 in the wake of the eurozone agreement. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in July fell 39 cents to $83.71 a barrel. Markets had gotten an early boost after eurozone finance ministers on Saturday threw Spain a lifeline to save its stricken banks amid efforts to avert a broader financial catastrophe. Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos insisted the handout was not a rescue but a loan that imposes conditions on the banks. The nation's borrowing costs fell early on Monday, but later bounced higher as the funds will raise Spain's debt and investors began to ponder the consequences. Spanish 10-year government bonds yields initially tumbled to 6.017 percent but then jumped back to 6.487 percent, a level widely considered unsustainable in the medium-term. Benchmark German 10-year bonds traded with a yield of 1.304 percent as the Bund continued to represent one of the safest placements for institutional investors. The comparable French rate climbed to 2.551 percent. Italian 10-year bonds rose to 6.004 percent for the first time since early June, but subsequently slipped back under that psychologically significant level. "As much as the perception of the situation in Europe may have changed, plenty of risk still remains in place," Gekko Global Markets analyst Anita Paluch said. She underscored "question marks over the ability of Spain to repay the debt, especially, if the country fails to get back on the growth path." In addition, "the outcome of the upcoming Greek elections and the perception of situation in Italy" weighed on market sentiment, Paluch said. Traders also said that the Spanish loans were not a comprehensive solution to wider regional problems, especially given rising uncertainty ahead of Greek elections on June 17.