⁍ Euro zone bond yields held their ground on Tuesday as the continued rise in coronavirus cases and the lack of progress on U.S. stimulus kept investors cautious.

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⁍ At the ECB meeting, the bank is not expected to change its policy, but investors will watch for hints on how likely it is to add to its bond purchases in December.

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⁍ Although rising coronavirus cases across Europe continue to cause alarm, the safe-haven German bond’s yield was above its lowest since March at nearly -0.64%.

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– Italian 10-year bond yields hit a one-week low of 0.73% on Monday after Standard & Poor’s upgraded the country’s credit rating, but they’re still a lot higher than yields on German 10-year bonds, which hit a seven-month low of -0.58%, Reuters reports. The Italian 10-year yield is essentially the risk premium on Italian debt, meaning investors are willing to accept less in return for the risk of the country defaulting on its debt. The Italian 10-year yield is just 3 basis points lower than Friday’s close. Italian bonds had already erased much of their gains in later trading on Monday amid the coronavirus worries and the setback to US stimulus hopes. Italian bonds had already erased much of their gains in later trading on Monday amid the coronavirus worries and the setback to US stimulus hopes. That means the gap between Italian and German 10-year yields—effectively the risk premium on Italian debt—is just 3 basis points lower than Friday’s close, prior to S&P’s outlook upgrade, at 129 basis points. In the primary market, Italy raised 3.25 billion euros in an auction of an inflation-linked bond due 2026 and a two-year zero-coupon bond. In the primary market, Italy raised 3.25 billion euros in an auction of an inflation-linked bond due 2026 and a two-year zero-coupon bond.