Ibex 35 began Tuesday lower, slipping 0.22%, as traders kept a tight watch on the index’s ability to defend the 9,200-point mark while pushing toward a higher intraday level. The session eventually touched 9,266.39, a move that comes amid ongoing geopolitical tensions between Israel and Hamas that have been shaping market sentiment across Europe and beyond.
Investors’ attention on this Tuesday is squarely fixed on the informal gathering of EU Economics and Finance Ministers in Luxembourg. The event features remarks from Luis de Guindos, vice president of the European Central Bank, who is expected to outline perspectives on monetary policy, inflation risks, and the evolving balance between growth and price stability within the euro area.
In Spain, the Public Treasury plans to auction between 1.5 billion and 2.5 billion euros in short- and medium-term notes, marking the first issuance round after a decision by First Vice President and Acting Minister of Economic Affairs Nadia Calviño to reduce planned debt issuance for 2023 by 5 billion euros. The move signals a cautious approach to financing needs amid a shifting debt market environment and cautious consumer sentiment across the region.
Beyond auctions, the week signals the start of a busy results season in Spain, with Bankinter’s third-quarter figures due next Thursday. Market participants will be parsing bank earnings for signs of demand trends, credit quality, and the health of consumer and corporate lending through a period of mixed economic signals.
During the early trading phase, the Ibex 35’s top movers included Acciona, which rose about 0.44%, Redeia with a 0.40% gain, Ferrovial up 0.27%, and Naturgy advancing about 0.26%. On the downside, the three laggards of note were Colonial, which slipped around 0.74%, Acerinox down roughly 0.71%, and Fluidra decreasing about 0.63%. The breadth of the session reflected a broad market tilt, with gains concentrated in infrastructure and energy-related names while several recent performers gave back part of their earlier advances.
Across Europe, the opening tone was modestly negative on Tuesday. Paris edged down about 0.20%, Frankfurt slipped 0.14%, Milan gave back 0.08%, and London declined 0.06%. The synchronized early weakness hints at cautious risk appetite as investors await fresh guidance from policymakers and updated macro data to gauge the trajectory of European growth and inflation in the near term.
Commodity markets showed subtle shifts at the outset, with Brent crude, the European benchmark, posting a modest advance of 0.11% to around 89.75 dollars per barrel. In contrast, U.S. crude benchmarks in Texas showed a slight retreat, dipping 0.04% to approximately 85.23 dollars per barrel. These moves reflect ongoing supply dynamics and global demand expectations that remain sensitive to geopolitical developments and economic indicators from major consuming regions.
On the currency front, the euro firmed slightly against the dollar, trading near 1.0535, signaling a tentative softening in the dollar as investors weigh divergent growth signals from the eurozone and the United States. Spain’s credit risk was around 112.2 basis points, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year Spanish government bond stood near 3.922%, continuing to reflect a modest risk premium relative to core euro-area peers amid ongoing fiscal and macroeconomic considerations.