US auto maker Ford Motor Co dominated the European corporate bond market for a second day on Tuesday as its financing arm sold a 750 million euro bond after widening the yield on offer to entice risk-wary investors. The bond, issued by Ford Motor Credit Co and due January 2010, was priced at 99.539 with a coupon of 4.875 percent to give a spread of 167 basis points over swaps, lead managers for the deal said.
The spread is at the tighter end of a range of 167 to 170 basis points released earlier on Tuesday. Initially the bond had been expected to yield around 160 basis points over swaps.
Auto bonds stabilised after Ford priced its new bond, a trader said.
"Since Ford got priced, we've gone maybe one basis point better, now that people know exactly where it is. Plus oil is trading lower," he said. "We've stopped widening, but we're not going to get back to unchanged."
By 1530 GMT, Ford's 5.75 percent euro bond due January 2009 was trading bid at 160 basis points over Bunds, some five basis points wider on the day.
The new 4.875 percent 2010 bond was trading bid at 176.5 basis points over Bunds, one basis point tighter from launch.
The deal comes after several weeks of volatility in auto bonds as fears built over the ratings of Ford and rival General Motors Corp - with Standard & Poor's rating both on the brink of "junk" territory. Jitters were also intensified by news of a Securities and Exchange Commission probe into both companies' pension and health care accounting.
Bankers received 1.2 billion euros of orders for the bond, said a lead manager for the sale, with strong demand from the UK, France and Scandinavia.
Elsewhere, trading was lacklustre with many sectors little changed.
"There really isn't a lot of risk appetite out there at the moment," said one trader.
UK retailer Marks & Spencer was the stand-out mover in the retail sector following the release of first-half results in line with targets but the company warned of a deterioration in current trading conditions.
Five-year default swaps on M&S were three basis points lower at 131 basis points by mid-afternoon in London, having earlier risen as high as 142 basis points, traders said. The price means it costs 131,000 euros a year to insure 10 million euros of M&S debt against default.
The FTSE Euro Corporate Bond Index showed investment-grade corporate bonds in euros yielding an average 49.2 basis points more than similarly dated government bonds at 1545 GMT, 0.2 basis points more on the day.
Elsewhere, Deutsche Bahn Finance BV, the funding arm of German railway operator Deutsche Bahn AG, plans to issue a 500 million euro 12-year bond in the near future, lead managers DrKW, RBS and WestLB said.
In the high-yield market, German DIY store and garden centre operator Hornbach-Baumarkt AG is holding presentations for a planned 200 million euro high-yield bond.