Relief rally in Italian equities and country-specific ETF led global market gains Monday after Italy’s finance minister assuaged investors over the government’s spending plans.
On Monday, the iShares MSCI Italy Capped ETF (NYSEArca: EWI) jumped 3.0%. In contrast, the broad region-related Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (NYSEArca: VGK) was 0.9% higher.
Concerns over a bigger Italian budget deficit were diminished after Italy’s finance minister, Giovanni Tria, predicted yields would drop when the government laid out its budget for 2019, Reuters reports.
Tria stated that the new government will implement policies to bolster the economy with prudent fiscal measures. Additionally, he added that the coalition’s radical budget plans would be introduced gradually, reassuring investors that the government will not cross European Union’s fiscal rules.
“As the government puts words into actions, the (bond yield) spread will return to more normal levels,” Tria said.
Investors previously dumped Italian bonds over the summer over concerns the new governing coalition’s fiscal plans would further strain the country’s already huge budget deficit.