UK and Italy retains rating – TDS

Analysts at TD Securities note that the Fitch left the UK’s AA (neg watch) rating late Friday.

Key Quotes

“Currently Fitch is in line with S&P’s AA (negative) and Moody’s Aa2 (stable) rating. We do note that the rating agency put the UK's AA rating under watch in February on the back of uncertainty around the Brexit process. While the possibility of a no-deal scenario has reduced, the path ahead still remains unclear.”

“S&P affirmed Italy’s BBB (negative) sovereign rating late Friday. Currently, S&P is in line with Fitch’s BBB (negative) rating and a notch above Moody’s Baa3 (stable) rating. Spanish elections are on Sunday. We expect PSOE to win the most seats, but with EU and local elections coming in late-May, talks are unlikely to yield a coalition agreement before June. Market reaction is likely to be relatively limited in part due to the lingering coalition uncertainty but also because both main parties are relatively traditional.”