Ibex 35 opened the session Thursday with a slight decline, slipping 1.1 percent and printing 7,782.86 as the clock showed 9:01 a.m. after the U.S. Federal Reserve agreed to a third straight rate increase, lifting the target range to 3.00%–3.25% in a unanimous decision.
The move marks the highest money level seen in the United States since January 2008, a stretch preceding the financial crisis sparked by the collapses of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers later that year.
Wall Street finished in the red as major indexes turned lower. The Dow Jones slipped about 1.7%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also faced losses, reflecting investor caution in the wake of the Fed decision.
Following the rate hike, markets turned their attention to a forthcoming Bank of England meeting. After the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, there was speculation about a potential delay, with expectations centered on a roughly 50 basis point increase.
Back in Madrid, the stock selector began the day touching the psychological level around 7,700, as energy concerns and fears of further monetary tightening continued to weigh on trader sentiment. Investors monitored inflation data closely to gauge policy direction going forward.
In the early trading session, the leadership among individual issues showed IAG down 3.07%, Amadeus down 2.35%, Grifols down 2.27%, Cellnex Telecom down 2.27%, Indra down 1.75%, Inditex down 1.63%, and Ferrovial down 1.58% as selling pressure persisted across sectors.
Across Europe, most major indices opened lower, with Frankfurt, Paris, and London dipping more than 1% in early trading.
On the energy front, Brent quality crude, the European benchmark, traded around 89 dollars a barrel, edging up slightly. In the United States, Texas Intermediate hovered near 82 dollars after a modest rise earlier in the session.
Meanwhile, the euro traded around 0.9819 U.S. dollars, while Spain’s risk premium stood at approximately 113 basis points. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Spanish government bond hovered near 3.056%.