- Cantabrian bank fell almost 1% but closed 0.75% higher
- Main drag on the Ibex was Telefonica, which fell 0.5%
The Ibex 35 continued its narrow price movement on Thursday. After falling to 10,549 points during the session, the index recovered well to finish at highs of the day, with gains of 0.335 to 10,549.10 points.
- 11.154,600
- 1,56%
The worst performer was Tecnicas Reunidas (-0.92%), followed by Amadeus (-0.52%) and Cellnex (-0.46%),a lthough the key drag was Telefonica (-0.34%), which is still unable to recover 10 euros per share. Only eight stocks fell on Thursday, in a session which was clearly average at best.
On the risers side, ArcelorMittal (1.57%) and Grifols (1.25%) were the most profitable stocks, followed by Acerinox (1.16%). Among the bigger stocks, Endesa (0.92%) BBVA (0.92%) and Santander (0.75%) were the best performers. The Cantabrian bank recovered from falling almost 1% at the start of the day , a movement similar to that of Repsol (0.14%).
In other European markets, the FTSe 100 rose 0.9%, while the CAC 40 gained 0.4%. In the UK, the Bank of England maintained interest rates at 0.25%. The DAX 30 fell 0.2%, hampered by Siemens (-3%) and its results.
On Wall Street stocks saw moderate sell-offs after MSI services was lower than expected. Although political instability in the White House is not affecting stocks in New York, with a good results season pushing markets higher.
However, these variables are being reflected in the euro/dollar rate along with the expected change of direction from the European Central Bank, and the warning of weakness from the Federal Reserve in its last meeting.
The common currency was above $1.19 on Thursday after employment data in the US private sector deceived the market slightly. It later corrected to $1.1882, while in the commodity market, oil saw gains of 0.5%, as Brent touched $53.
“The euro keeps holding back the eurozone, especially the core indices and the sectors with most exposure outside the euro,” said analysts from Banco Sabadell. The strength of the currency leads us to think there is a handicap for the export industry, and better performance from US multinationals, factors which help to explain the behaviour of stocks in recent weeks on the other side of the Atlantic.
In Spain, Abertis returned to the headlines on Thursday when Italian firm Atlantia gave the green light for its capital injection of 3.794bn euros in an acquisition offer. It added that it is prepared for a counteroffer from ACS.
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
“There have now been several sessions where the open and close of the Ibex have had little in common. On Thursday we fell close to 1%, bringing us close to 10,400 points, but closed practically at the height of the session and clearly above 10,500 points,” said Bolsamanía technical analyst José María Rodríguez.
“The rest is much the same. The supports are not being perforated and we show little sign of attacking resistances. Focusing on the key value of the Ibex, Santander’s performance leaves us with a good feeling as it makes us think that the lateral movement of recent weeks is about to come to an end.”
