Market Update: Ibex 35 Dips Slightly as Spanish Earnings Take Center Stage
The Ibex 35 began the week with a modest decline of around 0.06%, placing the index at 11,136.3 points as of 9:00 local time. The session is shaping up to be data-rich for Spain, with attention on the semi-annual reports from Banco Sabadell, Enagás, and Naturgy, among others.
Before the market opened, Banco Sabadell reported a first-half profit of 791 million euros, up 40.3% from the same period last year. The banking group signaled a strong improvement in earnings momentum year over year, underscoring the resilience of its core lending and fee income streams.
Enagás posted a loss of 210.8 million euros in the January-June period, compared with 176.81 million euros of profit in the prior year, reflecting the impact of impairment charges tied to the anticipated sale of its 30.2% stake in the U.S. Tallgrass Energy. The results highlight the ongoing challenges in the energy infrastructure space as asset valuations shift in response to strategic moves.
Naturgy reported net income of 1,043 million euros for the first half, nearly flat with 1,045 million euros in the prior period, even though the year began in a more challenging context for 2024. The group also reiterated ambitious targets for the year, signaling management’s confidence in navigating a softer macro environment while pursuing growth in core gas and electricity portfolios.
On the macro front, the full session of Congress is set to debate and vote on budgetary stability and public debt targets for all levels of government. This move is a prerequisite for processing the General State Budgets for 2025, which the government aims to finalize by year’s end.
At the opening, the top performers on the Madrid Stock Exchange were Banco Sabadell, up about 1.45%, Naturgy rising 1.28%, Rovi gaining 1.08%, and Puig Brands increasing 0.97%. In contrast, Acciona Energía slipped 0.91%, Inditex fell 0.64%, and Telefónica declined 0.26%.
Across Europe, major indices opened mixed. London dipped 0.33%, Frankfurt edged higher by 0.49%, Milan rose 0.27%, and Paris advanced a slim 0.03%.
The Brent crude benchmark, which serves as the reference for Europe, inched up 0.06% at the start of trading, trading around $82.45 a barrel. The U.S. benchmark WTI hovered near $78.39, down by about 0.01%.
Meanwhile, the euro hovered near 1.0882 dollars in the foreign exchange market. In the debt market, the yield on Spain’s 10-year bond climbed to about 3.261%, reflecting shifting risk premia amid the broader euro-area environment.
Overall, investors are watching corporate signals alongside policy and macro developments as they navigate a mixed start to the week across Europe and the broader financial landscape.