Yield

Greece's first post-election bond issue fetched 2.5 billion euros on Tuesday, securing a yield of 1.9 percent and a strong interest by long-term investors, according to the Greek national news agency AMNA.

Investor expectations for a change of government in Athens and the consolidation of a stable financial and tax environment has activated funds toward Greek stocks and bonds in the last few weeks. The question is whether this strong rally can continue and attract quality investors.

Expectations that the European Central Bank will loosen monetary policy, turning investors to eurozone periphery bonds, and domestic political developments led Greek bond yields into a fresh dive on Tuesday, paving the way for another market foray after this Sunday's general election.

Higher-rated eurozone bond yields inched up on Thursday after a pause in trading for the May Day holiday, tracking a rise in US Treasury yields after the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged and signaled little appetite to adjust them any time soon.

In contrast, one bright spot was Greece, where manufacturing hit a 19-year high.

The image of the Greek bond market has undergone a remarkable change compared to the days of strong pressure in 2018, as the improvement momentum built since late January has met no obstacle so far.

Greece's benchmark 10-year government bond yields dropped to their lowest since 2006 on Monday after Moody's raised its rating late last week, bolstering investor optimism towards the eurozone's most indebted country.

Moody's on Friday lifted Greece's issuer ratings to B1 from B3, citing the effectiveness of the country's reform program.

The rally in Greek bond prices that followed last week's issue of a five-year note came to an end on Monday.

Analysts note that while the strong demand for the issue has led the government to start planning for its next market foray, the current favorable climate will be hard to sustain, as Greece remains "a special case."

The markets appear particularly keen on the new Greek bond issued last Tuesday, as its yield has shown a significant improvement since then, partly thanks to the support from the favorable atmosphere internationally after the Fed's decision to be patient on its rate policy.

Greek government bond yields fell on Tuesday, outpacing eurozone peers, as Greece began selling a five-year bond for the first time since emerging from an international bailout five months ago.

Foreign analysts discern a window of opportunity for Greece's return to the international bond markets immediately after Parliament votes on the Prespes name deal with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as the bond issue is seen serving as a useful tool for the ruling party's election narrative.