The Spanish IBEX 35 index opened Wednesday’s session with little change, as markets remain in a risk-off phase amid stalled negotiations between the United States and Iran, the resulting rise in oil prices and a wave of selling in U.S. Treasury bonds.
‘Geopolitics will set the tone for the session, but the market will be watching the Fed minutes from the July 29 meeting (20:00h)’, Bankinter analysts said on their Telegram channel.
‘With no signs of progress toward a resolution of the conflict, elevated bond yields and without the catalyst of earnings, markets are likely to remain in a risk-off phase and a cautious tone.’
At 0701 GMT on Wednesday, Spain’s IBEX 35 was up 16.90 points, or 0.08%, at 19,951.80 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of leading European shares edged up 0.03%.
In the banking sector, Santander fell 0.16%, BBVA rose 0.16%, Caixabank added 0.27%, Sabadell gained 0.22%, Bankinter rose 0.12% and Unicaja Banco slipped 0.06%.
Among the big non-financial stocks, Telefonica rose 0.19%, Inditex added 0.18%, Iberdrola dropped 0.15%, Cellnex fell 1.28% and oil company Repsol rose 0.44%.
(Reporting by Benjamin Mejias Valencia; editing by Jorge Ollero Castela)