- Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen
The ratings agency Moody's left Spain's sovereign credit rating unchanged at its current level, which is only step above junk territory. Despite the rating agency expressed confidence that reforms made by Madrid and Eurozone's support should allow the country to maintain capital market access at reasonable rates, they said the outlook remains negative.
"We think that the risk of Spain losing market access has declined quite significantly with the ECB's recent announcement of its intent to buy Spanish bonds to contain their price volatility," said Kathrin Muehlbronner, a vice president and senior analyst at Moody's.
"If Spain decides to ask for some sort of bailout, then Europe should be ready to act -- and I'm sure they will not need a full program like Ireland or Portugal, and instead they might need some sort of a precautionary program," said Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen. "The main focus now should be that Spain remains in the market and gets funding."
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.47 per cent to 275.66. Germany's DAX Index edged higher 0.25 per cent to 7,394.55 and France's CAC 40 Index rocketed 0.76 per cent to 3,527.50.
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