Financial Markets Daily Report
17 February 2026
Trading activity was subdued at the start of the week, with US markets closed for Presidents’ Day and mainland Chinese exchanges shut for the Lunar New Year holidays. With no major macroeconomic releases elsewhere, markets lacked clear catalysts, resulting in limited price action.
Euro area sovereign bond yields were broadly unchanged, while equity markets closed mixed. The Euro Stoxx 50 edged slightly lower, with gains in the financial and communication services sectors offset by losses in industrials. At the country level, Spain’s IBEX 35 outperformed, while Germany’s DAX lagged behind. The euro traded near USD 1.18 against the dollar.
In Asia, Japanese equities edged lower after Q4 2025 GDP growth surprised to the downside, rising 0.1% qoq (vs. 0.4% expected), rebounding from -0.7% in Q3. The yen weakened modestly, trading near 153 against the US dollar, while futures markets slightly pushed back expectations for the first Bank of Japan rate hike from April to June.