• Endesa rose 2% after speculation about the sale of various funds
  • Inditex was 1.3% higher, Santander 1%, BBVA, Telefonica 0.6%

The Ibex 35 hit record annual highs after rising 0.5% to 9,850.5 points, pushed onwards by the gains of heavyweight stocks such as Inditex, Banco Santander, BBVA and Telefonica. The index led the advances amongst European stocks. It has risen 5.3% since the beginning of 2017.

IBEX 35

  • 18.276,000
  • 0,55%

One of the main players was Endesa, after the news that several funds are interested in buying a stake of 70% in the electricity firm Enel, something the Italian group have denied.

In additon, several other big stocks in the Ibex registered solid performances. Among them was Inditex, which will report results on 15 March. Banco Santander (+1%) and BBVA (0.6%), the two biggest banks, were accompanied by Banco Sabadell (+2.17%) and Banco Popular (+1.3%). Emilio Saracho's bank named a new general director in Miguel Scrig, a former financial director at Telefonica.

In the losses side, Acerinox (-1.44%) fell the most on Wednesday after it elevated its forecasts. It was followed by Acciona (-1.36%).

In European markets, Adidas lost 9% after raising its forecast for 2017. In addition, energy firm EDF fell 7.9% after announcing a capital increase and sales of stocks carried out by the French government.

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

The ECB meeting of Thursday will precede the meeting of the Federal Reserve, in which it will be known whether interest rates will rise or not.

"There is only a question of whether Draghi will indicate that he has any intention of finishing his accommodating posture. He will accept that recent data has been better. But given that inflation continues to be consistently low, it's probable that he discards that idea," said Patrick O'Donnell from Aberdeen Asset Management.

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

"Even though recent steps have been firm, the Ibex is currently at the doors of 10,000 points, although I think this is more of a psychological barrier. The real resistance should be between 10,600 and 10,630 points," said Bolsamanía analyst José María Rodríguez.

"Wednesday's gains were sustained primarily by the blue chips - Santander, Inditex, BBVA and Telefonica. We still have two sessions to finish off the week, and BBVA is still heading towards the important resistance of 6.6 euros. If it was able to hit that level it is highly likely that the Ibex will make 10,000 points."

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