The Ibex 35 started Thursday’s session with a slight pullback of about 0.4%, placing the index at 11,012 points around 9:00 a.m. local time. Investors were watching two big events: the United Kingdom elections and the minutes from the European Central Bank’s latest policy meeting. Without a Wall Street reference point due to the Independence Day holiday in the United States, European markets were also awaiting a batch of purchasing managers’ indexes across the region and news on German factory orders. All eyes remained on the schedule for Friday when the U.S. nonfarm payrolls and unemployment data would be released.
In Spain, a recent letter from Banco Sabadell to its shareholders regarding BBVA’s cash-and-stock takeover bid highlighted the Catalan bank’s concern that BBVA publish clear, transparent, and complete information on any factors that could influence the price offered. The same note reminded investors that they do not need to decide immediately; once the acceptance period for the offer begins, Sabadell will issue a valuation report and provide appropriate recommendations.
Separately, the Spanish Treasury announced it would hold a new auction of government bonds and securities, aiming to place between 5.25 and 6.75 billion euros.
At 9:05 a.m., financial stocks led the Madrid market higher, joined by Endesa, which climbed nearly 1.3%. Among banks, CaixaBank rose about 1.1%, with Sabadell, BBVA, and Santander each gaining more than 0.7%. Mapfre also advanced, opening the session up 0.98%. In contrast, declines were led by Repsol and Iberdrola, each down more than 2% at the opening.
Across Europe, major stock markets opened higher: Paris up nearly 0.5%, London about 0.4%, and Frankfurt roughly 0.3%.
Brent crude, the benchmark for Europe, slipped 0.7% at the start of trading to around 86.75 dollars per barrel, while the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded near 83.23 dollars, down about 0.77%.
In the foreign exchange market, the euro held steady at roughly 1.0793 dollars. In the debt market, the yield on Spain’s 10-year government bond rose to about 3.399%. These changes reflected a mix of regional earnings, policy expectations, and the broader global backdrop ahead of the key U.S. data release.
Source attribution: financial market desk.