The Ibex 35 opened the session on Friday, the final trading day of the week, with a modest rise of 0.14 percent, placing the benchmark near 10,504.8 points. This day marks the first quadruple witching of the year, a rare convergence when options and futures on indices and individual stocks across Europe and the United States expire simultaneously. Traders are closely watching as this event tends to bring heightened volatility and sharper intraday moves as derivative expirations converge on the calendar.
Against this backdrop, the broader mood for Friday includes the expiration of index and stock options and futures in major markets across Europe and North America. In Spain, attention centers on the Grifols situation after two major rating agencies issued downgrades yesterday. The moves add pressure to the trading day and shape sentiment in sectors sensitive to financing costs and corporate resilience during stress periods.
Credit rating agencies SP Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings lowered Grifols de la Sociedad de Hemoderivados to B and B+ respectively. The downgrades reflect concerns about weaker free cash flow generation and cash availability in the current environment. Analysts connect these actions to the crisis sparked by the short seller Gotham City Research, which raised questions about the company’s performance and future prospects. Investors are weighing the implications for Grifols’ debt profile and its ability to fund operations and growth as markets tighten and scrutiny grows.
On the corporate restructuring front, Dia Grupo announced after the close a plan to reorganize its Brazilian subsidiary. The immediate step involves closing 343 underperforming stores, representing 58 percent of the total in the country, along with the shutdown of three distribution centers. The company also stated that it will evaluate additional strategic options for the remaining Brazilian business. This move signals a comprehensive review aimed at improving profitability and capital allocation in a challenging market environment. Analysts and investors will monitor how this realignment affects Dia’s balance sheet and its long-term international footprint, especially since the region remains a key growth area despite its headwinds.
At the session’s start, the Ibex 35 registered the strongest gains for IAG up 3.3 percent, Unicaja Banco up 0.7 percent, Iberdrola up 0.55 percent, and Repsol up 0.53 percent. On the opposite end, Solaria fell 2.95 percent and Meliá declined 2.73 percent, illustrating how the index disperses performance as investors rotate between cyclical and defensive names in response to changing risk sentiment and sector-specific dynamics.
Across major European equity markets, early trading showed mixed trajectories. Paris hovered near flat with a slight dip of about 0.03 percent, while Milan, Frankfurt, and London posted modest gains of roughly 0.08 percent, 0.05 percent, and 0.02 percent respectively. The overall picture reflects a cautious mood among investors who balance global macro signals with domestic drivers and earnings expectations as the week unfolds.
In the commodities complex, Brent crude, the European price benchmark, slipped around 0.42 percent in early trading, hovering near 85.06 dollars per barrel. West Texas Intermediate stood near 80.92 dollars per barrel, also lower by about 0.42 percent. This movement underscores ongoing volatility in energy markets, where supply dynamics, geopolitical factors, and demand outlook converge to shape price paths as traders assess risk and policy signals.
On the currency front, the euro strengthened to approximately 1.0880 against the U.S. dollar, signaling a shift in relative valuations that can influence trade and investment decisions across the region. In government debt markets, Spain’s 10-year yield rose to around 3.257 percent, highlighting the tension between improving risk appetite and the need for higher compensation to hold government debt amid higher rates and ongoing uncertainty.