Ibex 35 opened the session higher, edging up by 0.3% and lifting the index to 9,457.7 points. Investors were eyeing potential guidance from Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank, who was in Paris to discuss monetary policy and economic stability with peers and market participants. The mood among traders reflected a cautious optimism as they weighed policy signals against upcoming data that could shape the path of interest rates and inflation expectations across the euro area.
Across the broader markets, attention focused on the release schedule for key macro indicators. Traders anticipated fresh figures on euro area inflation, movements in the UK economy, Germany’s unemployment numbers, and retail sales. These statistics were expected to offer clues about how price pressures and demand are evolving, and how central banks might calibrate policy in the months ahead. A steady stream of data points was seen as essential for calibrating asset valuations and global risk sentiment.
Among the Ibex 35 members, Cellnex led the gains in the early trading session with a rise of about 3.4%. The stock benefited from news that it had reached an agreement with an American investment firm, Stonepeak, regarding the sale of 49% of its subsidiaries in Sweden and Denmark for a total consideration of 730 million euros. The development highlighted the ongoing consolidation and strategic repositioning within the European telecommunications infrastructure sector, a theme closely watched by investors seeking exposure to resilient, long-term growth drivers in connectivity and digital services.
Meanwhile, Solaria and Fluidra stood out on the positive side, tacking on roughly 2.9% and 1.6% respectively as investors continued to chase opportunities in renewable energy and sustainable consumer goods. On the flip side, the session’s “red lanterns” or underperformers included Repsol and Banco Santander, which slipped by about 0.86% and 0.44%. The mixed performance underscored selective sector rotations as traders weighed commodity exposures, energy price dynamics, and the evolving landscape for domestic banking institutions within a still-fragile euro area economy.
Beyond the Ibex, major European stock exchanges opened the day in positive territory as well. Frankfurt posted a gain around 0.4%, Milan led with a similar advance, and Paris and London posted modest increases as investors continued to parse company results, macro signals, and policy commentary. The broad European equities backdrop reflected ongoing resilience in the region while remaining sensitive to the pace of inflation and the effectiveness of monetary policy frameworks across borders.
Commodity markets showed Brent crude, a widely used benchmark for European pricing, retreating slightly by about 0.08% to roughly 93.03 dollars per barrel at the opening, while U.S. Texas Intermediate crude slipped by about 0.02% to around 91.69 dollars. The minor pullback in oil prices during the session aligned with a broader mood of tempered risk appetite, even as supply constraints and demand dynamics continued to influence energy markets in tandem with geopolitical and economic developments that shape expectations for inflation and growth.
On the currency front, the euro traded near 1.0591 against the dollar, a level that keeps currency markets attentive to euro zone policy guidance and relative growth differentials. The Spanish risk premium hovered around 107.7 basis points, a measure that investors monitor as a gauge of country-specific risk within the euro area. Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year Spanish bond stood near 3.976%, a level that reflects the delicate balance between borrowing costs for the sovereign and the demand for fixed-income assets in a climate of ongoing central bank scrutiny and fiscal considerations across Europe.