Ten-year Italian yields fall below 5 percent

LONDON: Ten-year Italian government bond yields fell below five percent on Friday for the first time since late March as the US Federal Reserve's aggressive stimulus plan fueled a recent improvement in sentiment towards riskier assets.

The Fed said on Thursday it would pump $40 billion into the US economy each month until it saw a sustained upturn in the weak jobs market.

Ten-year Italian yields fell below 5 percent for the first time since March 26 and were down 6 basis points on the day at 4.97 percent. Equivalent Spanish yields shed 3.5 bps to 5.64 percent.

"There is a risk-on mood across the board at the moment, that (has to do with) the Fed but certainly it still echoes from the ECB," Rainer Guntermann, strategist at Commerzbank said.