Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy in Brussels Oct. 23, 2011THIERRY ROGE
The traders who have put the most pressure on Europe appear to be happy with Thursday's agreement on a framework for addressing the continent's debt crisis.
Traders in the credit default swap market are ratifying the moves in Europe by dropping the price on debt insurance for everything from countries to banks for a second day.
The Markit iTraxx Senior Financials Index shed 13 basis points to 194.5 in morning trading in Europe, meaning it now costs $194.50 a year to insure $10,000 of senior financial debt, instead of $207.50 yesterday.
The price for protection on Spain fell 33 basis points to 290 basis points and the cost of protection on Italy fell 34 basis points to 371 basis points, according to a morning price report from Markit.
The pressure eased off all through the market, in areas of the world directly affected by the European debt crisis and those far from it. Prices for protection dropped for Japan, Australia, broader Asia, Greece, Ireland, France, Germany and Belgium.
"After a cautious start the optimism from yesterday reasserted itself and spreads continued to tighten," Markit said.