The Ibex-35 loses 1.57% to 8,793 points at the start of the results season in Spain
Session of heavy losses on the European stock markets, with some investors still fearful of the uncertainty about the impact that interest rate hikes will have on the economic recovery. The European Central Bank (ECB) has been very clear in its speech to the market in recent months: it will be softer with the removal of incentives and the pace of interest rate hikes, but also much louder in its speech, to avoid a hasty festival of markets.
Despite discounting this scenario for some time, investors were once again frightened on Thursday by ECB President Christine Lagarde’s words assuring that the body will continue to raise interest rates to combat still-high inflation.
Analysts are starting to notice how investors are beginning to see the bad news for what it is. In other words, symptoms of an economic slowdown and no excuse for the ECB to ease monetary policy. The flight of risky assets is therefore not long in coming.
In Spain, the Ibex-35 lost 1.57% to 8,793 points. A level that contrasts with the hopes of reaching the 8,900 points released the previous day.
Only three stocks ended the session on a positive note: Enagás (+0.42%), Red Eléctrica (+0.24%) and Iberdrola (+0.05%). Of the other listed companies in the selection, Fluidra was the worst stop with (-3.89%), followed by Arcelormittal (-3.41%), Bankinter (-2.90%) and Banco Santander (-2.78%) ).
The financial sector is at the center of investor attention, with the start of the presentation of the results, which featured Bankinter on Thursday. The entity earned 560 million last year, 28% more.
In the rest of the European markets, the German Dax lost 1.72%, while the French CAC 40 lost 1.86% and the Italian FTSE MIB lost 1.75%. For example, the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 1.92% today, while the UK FTSE 100 is down 1.07%.
In terms of commodities, a barrel of Brent was up 1.15% on Thursday to $85.98, while the West Texas Intermediate was up 0.97% at $80.25.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
