Spanish bond slide hits global markets

A slide in Spanish stocks and bonds deepened yesterday as investors’ concerns that prime minister Mariano Rajoy may require international aid rattled international markets.

Spain, the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy, is in “extreme difficulty,” Mr Rajoy said, raising the likelihood of a bailout for the second time this week. The Ibex stock index slid 0.7% in Madrid.

Spain sold €2.59bn of bonds at an auction, the Bank of Spain said. That was less than the maximum target of €3.5bn. It auctioned €973m of five-year notes at an average yield of 4.32%. Investors bid for 2.46 times the amount of debt allotted. That compared with a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.59 at the previous bond auction on Mar 1.