Markets

Bunds fall after hefty gains; meeting, auction eyed

Published November 2, 2011 Updated November 2, 2011 07:28am

French and German leaders will aim to push for a quick implementation of Athens' bailout deal after the Greek government unsettled global financial markets on Tuesday by calling a referendum on a new rescue plan.

"You are looking at a small pull-back after a big rally yesterday," said a trader. "It's all very headline dependent."

The German Bund future was down 48 ticks at 137.67, having risen as far as 138.54 in the previous session -- up more than 300 ticks on the day and not far from September's record high of 139.07.

"The events of the past 24 hours in Greece have underlined the vulnerability of the unfinished euro area crisis response," Commerzbank said in a research note.

A German sale of 2016 government debt will also be in focus after three of the last four auctions of German bonds were undersubscribed with investors put off by low yield levels.

Ten-year German government bonds yields fell to their lowest in nearly a month on Tuesday to 1.736 percent -- edging closer to a record low of 1.637 percent hit in September.

Later in the day, attention will turn to a rate decision by the US Federal Reserve. The US central bank looks set to take a breather from monetary stimulus measures, even if financial market turbulence has heightened the chances of action later.

Copyright Reuters, 2011