The mountain of data began Thursday with a modest rise of 0.08 percent, nudging the index to 9,488.79 points as traders awaited the signal from Jerome Powell, the head of the United States Federal Reserve, at a high-profile event staged by the Bank of Spain in Madrid.
Powell used the central bank forum in Sintra, Portugal, to note that the Fed still has room to lift interest rates if necessary. He highlighted a notable, if not dominant, chance that the economy could slip into recession, particularly after the Fed paused a streak of ten consecutive rate increases in June. The remarks kept investors on edge about the path of monetary policy in the United States and its ripples across global markets.
Market watchers also turned their focus to Thursday’s agenda, with the European Central Bank’s ongoing dialogue and the broader EU leadership summit in Brussels drawing attention. The tone from European policymakers remains crucial as investors weigh how regional fiscal and monetary stance might interact with U.S. policy signals, influencing liquidity and risk sentiment across international markets.
In Madrid, the early session brought a mixed frame as Spain published its advanced consumer price index for June. The index rose 0.6 percent year on year, a sign of persistent, though contained, price pressures. The Ibex 35 advanced to near session highs around 9,481.3 points, marking a 0.94 percent gain from the prior day’s close. The annual inflation rate for Spain slipped to 1.9 percent, a multi-year low not seen since March 2021, underscoring a cooling pricing environment that could shape domestic fiscal and investment decisions.
Among the leaders on the Ibex, CaixaBank, Inditex, Acciona, and Banco Sabadell posted gains of 0.67, 0.61, 0.52, and 0.32 percent respectively, while Endesa led the downside with a sharp decline of 7.58 percent. Endesa traded without entitlement to the July 3 dividend, a factor that weighed on sentiment for the utilities sector. Red Eléctrica and Indra also moved lower, down 3.79 percent and a modest 0.22 percent, respectively, helping to shape a day of tempered gains and losses across the market.
The opening of European equities on Thursday presented a mixed picture, with Paris edging higher by 0.18 percent and Milan advancing 0.14 percent. Frankfurt and London, meanwhile, traded largely flat, reflecting a cautious mood as investors parse economic data and central bank commentary from major economies. The mood across major European bourses remained nuanced, with different national stories driving relative performance as traders balanced growth prospects against inflation dynamics and policy signals.
On the commodity front, Brent crude slipped about 0.4 percent to $73.94 per barrel, reflecting a gentle retreat in energy markets amid supply considerations and demand expectations. West Texas Intermediate Crude also fell roughly 0.4 percent, landing near $69.28 per barrel, painting a picture of a commodity complex in a modest consolidation phase rather than a decisive move in either direction.
In the debt landscape, Spain’s 10-year government bond yielded 3.332 percent, with the risk premium widening to roughly 95 basis points. The foreign exchange arena showed the euro hovering near $1.0905 against the dollar, a level that keeps the euro’s trajectory under scrutiny as investors assess the relative pace of recovery and the interplay of European and U.S. monetary policy cycles.
Across markets, traders and analysts continued to calibrate risk, weighing the probability of rate adjustments against the backdrop of inflation dynamics, growth signals, and political developments. The narrative remains one of vigilance: policy accommodation versus tightening, domestic resilience versus external headwinds, and the enduring influence of U.S. policy posture on global capital allocation. As the day advanced, market participants in North America and Europe kept a watchful eye on evolving data and central bank commentary, seeking clues about the next credible point of trajectory for interest rates, exchange rates, and equity valuations.