Italy ETFs were among the few areas of strength in international markets Tuesday after the Italian debt market gained and yields declined from four year highs in response to Fitch Ratings decision to leave the country’s credit rating unchanged.
On Tuesday, the iShares MSCI Italy Capped ETF (NYSEArca: EWI) rose 1.3%.
Italian bond yields dipped after Fitch left its credit rating unchanged at BBB but revised its outlook to negative, Reuters reports. Yields on benchmark 10-year Italian Generic Government bonds dropped 14 basis points to 3.02% on Tuesday, compared to around 3.23% at the end of last week.
Yields on Italy’s bonds surged to their highest level since August 2014 at the end of last week on concerns over the country’s fall budget. The recent move helped trigger buying of Italian government debt after the sell-off.
While Fitch maintained its triple-B credit rating for Italy, the ratings agency issued a warning over the populist government’s “new and untested nature” and its promises to hike spending.