The IBEX 35 opened Tuesday’s session without major changes, amid uncertainty in global markets as investors assessed the economic impact of the conflict in the Middle East while awaiting a series of monetary policy decisions from central banks this week.
The war in Iran continued with no signs of abating, as Israel and Iran exchanged airstrikes. U.S. President Donald Trump accused some Western allies of ingratitude after several countries rejected his request to send warships to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, while Tehran continued to attack oil facilities in the Persian Gulf.
High oil prices — Brent rose 2.9% to 103.11 dollars a barrel — have clouded the inflation outlook, which should lead most central banks to maintain a wait-and-see stance at this week’s monetary policy meetings.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to keep rates unchanged for the second consecutive meeting when it announces its monetary policy statement on Wednesday, while central banks in the United Kingdom, the eurozone, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, and Sweden also meet this week for the first time since the war with Iran began.
This morning in Australia, the central bank voted to raise interest rates for the second time this year, setting its benchmark rate at 4.1%, but the 5-to-4 vote result was close enough to cast doubt on its next move.
Analysts at Renta 4 noted in their daily report that the leaders of these organizations “will assess the global economic impact of the energy crisis and its potential future impact on monetary policy decisions, although all are expected to keep their rates unchanged.”
“In this regard, the Bank for International Settlements in Basel has urged policymakers not to rush their reactions to rising energy prices, calling it a textbook case of having to ‘look past’ a supply crisis.”
The rally in Asian markets provided some support at the European open with gains in tech stocks, following well-received comments from Nvidia’s top executive, who indicated that the revenue opportunity for its artificial intelligence microprocessors could reach at least 1 trillion dollars by 2027.
On the macroeconomic front, markets will be watching the German ZEW investor sentiment index (1000 GMT), in addition to the pending home sales data in the United States (1400 GMT).
At 0802 GMT on Tuesday, the Spanish IBEX 35 stock index rose 28.40 points, or 0.17%, to 17,117.80 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of major European stocks retreated 0.06%.
In the banking sector, Santander lost 0.33%, BBVA fell 0.06%, Caixabank advanced 0.28%, Sabadell dropped 0.43%, Bankinter shed 0.08%, and Unicaja Banco lost 0.24%.
Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefonica gained 0.48%, Inditex advanced 0.19%, Iberdrola rose 0.43%, Cellnex gained 1.31%, and the oil company Repsol rose 1.50%.
(Reporting by Benjamin Mejias Valencia and Tomas Cobos; editing by Jorge Ollero Castela)