The Spanish stock market index, IBEX 35, opened with a moderate rebound on Thursday following two days of slight correction. However, it remained within the narrow range it has occupied throughout January, reflecting the uncertainty surrounding the trade policies of the new US president.
Bankinter analysts suggest that the market is performing “excessively well,” considering that Donald Trump’s tariff promises haven’t materialized and the US earnings season is progressing slightly better than anticipated.
However, they caution in their Telegram channel that the week might be concluding for the Spanish selective index. “It’s likely that today and tomorrow will be slow days, without significant deterioration, but lacking momentum as attention turns to next week, which is frankly important.”
While US giants like General Electric and Intuitive Surgical release their earnings today, investors are already focused on the results of 5 of the 7 Magnificent companies expected next week, which could influence the tone of equities for the remainder of the season.
Decisions from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB) are also due on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. The market has already priced in a 25 basis point (bp) cut in Frankfurt’s benchmark interest rates and assigns a near 100% probability that the Fed will hold steady for now. Nevertheless, investors will closely scrutinize the speeches of Christine Lagarde and Jerome Powell for clues about the timeline for future rate cuts.
On the macroeconomic front, Thursday’s session will see the release of Eurozone consumer confidence data, US weekly unemployment figures, and the December Kansas Fed Manufacturing Index.
Against this backdrop, at 08:13 GMT on Thursday, the IBEX 35 rose 11.50 points, or 0.10%, to 11,894.20 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of leading European stocks fell 0.03%.
The Spanish index has remained within the 11,600-12,000 point range so far this year, unable to break above the upper limit due to uncertainty about the policies of the new US administration.
In the banking sector, Santander rose 0.17%, BBVA gained 0.58%, Caixabank fell 0.72%, Sabadell added 0.38%, and Unicaja Banco lost 0.45%.
Bankinter dropped 2.74% after kicking off the Spanish earnings season before the market opened, reporting a 4% year-on-year decline in net interest income in the fourth quarter.
Among the major non-financial stocks, Telefónica rose 0.45%, Inditex fell 0.43%, Iberdrola appreciated 0.27%, Cellnex gained 0.25%, and Repsol lost 0.26%.
