The Ibex 35 started Friday, the last trading day of the week, with a small gain of 0.2 percent, nudging the index to 11,382 points. Within minutes, gains widened to 0.4 percent, boosting the level past the 11,400 mark and signaling renewed momentum as the session opened. This early move reflected cautious optimism among equities as traders weighed a mix of domestic and international data that could influence risk appetite heading into the weekend.
The penultimate session of August will feature a slate of macroeconomic releases that investors will monitor closely. Across the euro area, the August consumer price index is due, offering clues on inflation trends and the upcoming pace of monetary tightening. In France, the second-quarter gross domestic product is expected to show the economy’s growth trajectory, while Germany will publish its unemployment figures, a gauge of domestic demand. Across the Atlantic, the personal consumption expenditures price index, a key Fed inflation indicator, is anticipated to inform the central bank’s policy stance, along with other data that may influence rate expectations in the United States.
Back home, Spain’s National Institute of Statistics will release July retail sales along with data on mortgage signings for June and a look at tourism patterns in apartments, camping sites, rural houses and other non-hotel accommodations for July. These numbers help paint a broader picture of domestic demand, housing activity, and the resilience of the travel sector as the country moves deeper into the summer period.
In the early hours of the session, Grifols stood out, rising about 1.6 percent to around 10.04 euros per share, following news that Brookfield, a Canadian asset manager, has begun informal outreach with several sovereign funds regarding participation in the bidding process for a potential takeover of the Catalan plasma company. This development underscored the ongoing interest in strategic moves within the European healthcare space and highlighted how cross-border investor activity can influence stock performance in the near term.
Other notable movers included Merlin, CaixaBank, Enagás, Solaria, Cellnex, and Banco Santander, all trading higher as the session progressed. Each name reflected a mix of sector strength and company-specific catalysts, with investors rotating into banks, utilities, and growth-oriented energy firms as risk sentiment fluctuated. The day’s gains were broad but varied, underscoring the uneven but constructive tone across the Spanish market as investors recalibrate portfolios amid global macro signals.
On the downside, Inditex, ACS, and Fluidra posted modest declines, reflecting a mix of profit-taking and sector-specific pressures. While spreads and valuations stretch as markets absorb the latest data, the general mood remained cautiously optimistic about near-term earnings prospects and the potential for a steadying of equity indices in the face of global uncertainty.
Across Europe, the opening of major exchanges showed gains in most markets, with Frankfurt trading slightly in the red. London advanced about 0.3 percent, Milan rose 0.2 percent, and Paris increased 0.1 percent, painting a picture of a region that is broadly higher but uneven in its leadership at the start of the session. This distribution hints at a mixed risk context, where investors weigh monetary policy expectations against economic momentum and corporate results as they position for the coming weeks.
In commodity markets, Brent crude, a benchmark for Europe, traded around $79.12 per barrel early in the session, up nearly 0.4 percent, while US light crude, Texas intermediate, added about 0.3 percent to trade near $76.16. The price moves reflected a complex interplay of supply dynamics, geopolitical influences, and global demand signals shaping energy equities and inflation expectations alike.
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In currencies, the euro traded near 1.1082 against the US dollar, with the debt market signaling a cautious stance as the 10-year German bund yielded about 3.101 percent. These rates and exchange levels pointed to a climate where investors balance foreign exchange risks with potential earnings from multinational exposure, particularly in a period of shifting central bank narratives and policy expectations.
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