European credit derivative indices widened on Friday as US and European equity markets retreated again after poor quarterly results from technology company Dell and US housebuilder DR Horton. By 1520 GMT, the investment-grade Markit iTraxx Europe index was at 85.5 basis points, according to data from Markit, unchanged from late on Thursday.
The Markit iTraxx Crossover index, made up of 50 mostly "junk"-rated credits, was at 531.56 basis points, 2.56 basis points wider. A trader said the disparity in the performance of the two indexes could be down to the fact that Greek telecoms operator Hellas Telecommunications (Luxembourg) II has been declared a credit event, triggering settlement of the CDS. UniCredit (HVB) analysts said in a note that negative momentum in stocks had impacted CDS spreads this week, with high yield CDS underperforming.