Spain's crisis drives Milan, other European markets lower

Milan's bourse joined other European stock markets in sliding lower Tuesday amid investor fears over the future of Spain's economy. The Milan Stock Exchange's FTSE MIB index closed down 0.17% to 15,495 points as financial markets fretted over Spanish Premier Mariano Rajoy's statement that a bailout request was not imminent. He is said to be worried about what conditions would be attached. Many investors and analysts believe that a bailout of recession-riddled Spain is essential to resolving the European debt crisis. Concerns spread across much of Europe's markets. London's FTSE 100 index closed trading down 0.2% at 5,809.45 points, while the CAC 40 in Paris dropped by 0.6% to 3,414.23 points and Frankfurt's DAX 30 index slipped 0.3% to 7,305.86. Yet Spain's key financial market countered the trend. In Madrid, the IBEX 35 closed up by 1% at 7,687.10 points. In Spain, government figures published Tuesday showed that nearly 500,000 people joined the hunt for work in September. That only added to concerns about the future of Spain's economy, which is enduring its second recession since 2008. Italian bonds managed to tread water on Tuesday, despite market concerns. The spread between Italy's 10-year Treasury bill and the benchmark German bund narrowed slightly to 357 points Tuesday, from 362 points the day before. The yield on 10-year Italian paper stands at 5.02%.