0659 GMT - Spain and France will hold scheduled government bond auctions Thursday as markets await the European Central Bank's policy meeting to gauge its reactions to soaring oil prices. "[ECB President Christine] Lagarde will likely talk tough, but we ultimately expect soft action," Commerzbank's Erik Liem and Hauke Siemssen say in a note. They expect the ECB to stay on hold. Markets have no time to take a breather as Thursday's session features the ECB, Bank of England and Swiss National Bank after the Bank of Japan reiterated that it would raise rates further if its inflation outlook is realised, the rates strategists say. Spain auctions 5 billion-6 billion euros in bonds. France auctions 10.5 billion-12.5 billion in short- and medium-term nominal bonds and 1 billion-1.5 billion euros in linkers. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 19, 2026 02:59 ET (06:59 GMT)
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