The Ibex 35 started Friday trading, the last session of the week, with a modest decline of 0.18 percent. The index slipped to 10,121 points as investors weighed the outcomes of the Eurogroup gathering against a batch of corporate earnings released that day.
The European macro landscape remained in focus as Germany confirmed a contraction in gross domestic product for the end of 2023, pressuring the broader region. The news accompanied movements across European stock markets as investors parsed the implications for growth trajectories and policy responses.
On the corporate front, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners informed the National Securities Market Commission that its net profit reached 1.669 billion euros in 2023, up 9.5 percent from the previous year. The company also reported that the joint acquisition by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Aboitiz Equity Ventures of the Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines bottler has been completed, signaling a strategic expansion in Southeast Asia.
In remarks tied to public finance, Economy, Trade and Enterprise Minister Carlos Cuerpo stated that the government is examining how to finance up to 10 percent of Telefónica owned by the Government’s Industrial Participations Society, SEPI. The review runs in parallel with negotiations over the 2024 Budget, indicating careful scrutiny of state involvement in key telecom assets.
At the start of the session, Madrid-listed equities showed mixed performance. The brightest spots came from Aena, up 1.28 percent, followed by Rovi with a 1.19 percent gain, Grifols adding 1.18 percent, and Indra ticking higher by 0.76 percent. On the downside, Amadeus led declines with a 1.47 percent drop, followed by Ferrovial at 1.13 percent and Bankinter down 1.1 percent, painting a cautious mood in the market.
Across Europe, major indices opened with modest gains: Milan up 0.27 percent, London 0.25 percent higher, Paris up 0.11 percent, and Frankfurt eking out a 0.04 percent advance, signaling a generally positive sentiment among European investors as they weigh sector dynamics and macro data.
In commodity markets, Brent crude, the European oil benchmark, traded down by about 0.5 percent, slipping to around 83.25 euros per barrel. The benchmark for the U.S. market, Texas light sweet crude, traded near 78.14 euros per barrel, marking a similar retreat on the day and reflecting a balance of supply concerns and demand expectations.
Among currency moves, the euro strengthened slightly against the U.S. dollar, trading around 1.0829 in early dealings. In the debt market, the yield on Spain’s 10-year government bond rose to approximately 3.338 percent, underscoring the ongoing sensitivity of European fixed income to policy signals and growth outlooks.
These developments come as investors digest a mix of macro news, corporate earnings, and policy signals. The day’s narrative centers on how European growth is evolving, how state participation in strategic sectors is being managed, and how financial markets price in the evolving economic backdrop.