- Ibex closes at 10,766.8 points
- Emmanuel Macron’s victory in French elections boosted the markets
- The euro regains ground against the dollar
The first round of elections in France was just as expected: victory for Emmanuel Macron, liberal centre-left candidate, although the second round is still to take place against right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen. The victory boosted stock markets across Europe, including the Ibex, which closed at a high of more than 20 months.
- 11.154,600
- 1,56%
The Spanish index closed at 10,766.8 points, a figure not seen since 19 August 2015, when it finished at 10,782 points. This level was hit after a gain of 3.76%, its biggest daily rise since November 2015, when it finished 3.83% higher. The banking sector pushed the Ibex 35 towards those levels, although it must be noted that no stocks finished in the red on Monday.
In fact, the two biggest banks registered the biggest gains. BBVA closed 7.32% higher to 7.6 euros, and Banco Santander advanced 5.8% to 6 euros per share.. On the other side, Banco Sabadell also closed significantly higher by 5.13%. Bankia and Caixabank both rose more than 4%.
Bankinter was 3.32% higher at 8.2 euros. Finally, Banco Popular registered the lowest gain, specifically by 1.63% to 0.68 euros.
With gains of more than 5% outside of the banking sector the best performers were Indra and Gas Natural. The consultancy firm gained 5.7% to 12.76 euros, and Gas Natural rose 5.15% to 21.12 euros.
OTHER STOCKS
As well as the best performing companies, the day also saw a rise for ACS, The construction firm hit 34 euros per share, which has led to a resuscitation of stock options for Florentino Perez and 61 directors. In the end it closed with a gain of 3.17% to 33.67 euros.
Inditex was the other big player on Monday, as it hit historic highs in the stock exchange and is now worth more than 110 billion euros, boosting the fortune of Amancio Ortega. The textile company closed at 35 euros after a gain of 2.41%. Abertis was 3.29% higher at 16.15 euros after achieving control of 100% of its affiliate in France.
OTHER MARKETS
All markets celebrated the result in France. Without doubt the CAC 40 in France made the most of it. The French index closed with a rise of 4.14%, its best performance since June 2012, pulverising the highs of 2015. The DAX 30 in Germany gained 3.37% and the FTSE 100 in London was 2.11% higher.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Wall Street also enjoyed the success of Macron. It saw gains of 1%, after several sessions in the red and only slight gains. The euro is recovering against the dollar thanks to the expected victory. The currency rose 1.16% to $1.0851.
With the reaction of stock markets to the French vote, a week of important data kicks off on Monday. Mario Draghi will speak about European Central Bank policy on Thursday after a meeting in which the body is not expected to announce any major changes.
In addition, Saturday the European Commission will meet for an extraordinary encounter to set out its “red lines” for Brexit. In the micro realm, most of the Ibex 35 firms will report results from Wednesday onwards, starting with Santander. On Thursday we will find out the figures from BBVA and Bankinter, with Friday seeing those from Sabadell, Caixabank and Bankia. Popular will report on 5 May.
German business sentiment was released today, and was higher than expected, and a sign of growth for other eurozone countries.
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
José María Rodríguez, Bolsamanía technical analyst, pointed out that the “buying frenzy in the Ibex 35 and other European markets mainly helped the banks.” In last Wednesday’s session, “we warned about the strong gains of the index which were being driven by European bank stocks.”
He added that as long as the banks remain strong any correction is impossible. As a zone of support in the short term we are now at previous maximums (10,520). “The only ‘but’ in the short term we find in the graphic for Monday is that the gap we see, from my experience, is often filled at least partially before seeing more growth.”
