The Ibex 35 opened the week with a gentle decline, slipping 0.23 percent to hover around 9,180 points as traders prepared for a day packed with corporate earnings results and key macro releases. The move followed a 0.35 percent drop the previous session, which pushed the index below the 9,200 threshold that traders often view as a psychological hurdle.
Investors are eyeing a slate of important indicators, including quarterly GDP figures and unemployment data for the euro area and the United Kingdom. These releases will shape sentiment as markets dissect how European economies are faring amid evolving global conditions. Source data points to a mixed growth picture and potential shifts in policy expectations.
Alongside earnings and macro numbers, market participants will be watching Spain’s debt auctions where the government aims to place between 1.5 and 2.5 billion euros in a trio of bills with three and nine months to maturity. The Ecofin meeting agenda for the European Union is also on the radar, as ministers discuss economic policy and fiscal coordination.
At the opening bells, gains on the Ibex 35 were led by Indra up 0.64 percent, Iberdrola advancing 0.51 percent, Colonial climbing 0.46 percent, and Grifols rising 0.40 percent. In contrast, ArcelorMittal slipped 0.77 percent, Banco Sabadell fell 0.76 percent, IAG declined 0.73 percent, and Bankinter eased 0.64 percent as trading took its first turn of the session.
Across the rest of Europe, trading started on a softer note. Paris dipped about 0.3 percent, Milan around 0.24 percent, Frankfurt roughly 0.12 percent, and London a modest 0.12 percent lower. These readings reflect a cautious tone as investors weigh domestic catalysts against global risk factors.
Commodities followed the same cautious path. The Brent crude oil price, a benchmark across Europe, stood near 75.14 dollars a barrel, tracking a marginal decline of about 0.12 percent. In the United States, Texas intermediate crude traded slightly weaker, around 71 dollars per barrel, as supply and demand dynamics remained in focus for energy traders.
In FX markets the euro held around 1.0875 against the dollar, reflecting a relatively stable cross amid ongoing policy and growth conversations. The Spanish risk premium printed at about 107 basis points, while the yield on the benchmark ten year Spanish bond hovered near 3.33 percent as investors weighed the debt outlook and inflation expectations.