The Ibex 35 has managed to finally close in the ‘green’, with a 0.09% increase, despite having traded in the middle of the session in negative territory, allowing it to reach 13,530.2 points, marking highs since mid-2008.
Investors have been attentive this Tuesday to the labor data from Spain, earnings reports, the start of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy meeting in the United States, whose decision will be known tomorrow, and the election of the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, an issue that has kept European markets on edge.
Going into detail about the current day, it has been revealed in Spain that registered unemployment decreased by 67,420 people in April compared to the previous month (-2.6%), while Social Security gained an average of 230,993 contributors in April compared to the previous month (+1.1%), mainly thanks to the boost in the hospitality sector, which added over 108,000 new affiliates due to the Easter effect.
On the other hand, the market is discounting a new pause in interest rates by the Fed, which would remain at 4.25-4.5%, following the good employment data from last Friday and the subsequent strength in the labor market.
«The market assigns an almost zero probability of a rate cut tomorrow, and considers it more likely that the next rate cut will occur later in the year, around July, once there is more clarity on what the final level of tariffs will be after the negotiations in the 90-day truce period that began on April 9th and, therefore, what their impact will be on the macro picture,» Renta 4 analysts have summarized.
Also on the international front, the defeat of the German Christian Democratic leader, Friedrich Merz, in the first vote to elect him as chancellor, has surprised. Finally, he was elected in the second vote, but it caused the Frankfurt stock exchange to drop by 1% and dragged down other European indices.
At the close, the German DAX managed to moderate the declines and ended with a decrease of 0.41%, while the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.40%. The FTSE 100 in London closed almost flat (+0.01%) and the FTSE MIB in Milan advanced by 0.22%.
On the other side of the globe, the growth in China’s private sector activity weakened in April to the lowest level in the last three months, as reflected in the Caixin composite PMI index, with a reading of 51.1 points, compared to 51.8 in the previous month, including a substantial drop in optimism among Chinese companies, which «weakened to its lowest level since this series began in April 2012,» leading to further job cuts.
Returning to Spain, the Treasury placed 5,767.57 million euros in bonds on Tuesday, an amount within the lower end of the expected range, and inaugurated the May auctions by reducing the yield offered to investors for both the six-month and twelve-month references to lows since 2022, according to data published by the Bank of Spain.
In the domestic business sector, Indra reported a net profit of 59 million euros in the first quarter of the year, a 3.2% decrease from the same period in 2024, as reported by the company, attributing the profit reduction to higher financial and tax expenses.
In addition, the Ministry of Economy has already announced the open public consultation to individuals, citizens, entrepreneurs, and organizations regarding BBVA’s takeover bid for Sabadell. The questionnaire will be open for seven days, until May 16, while May 27 is the deadline for the Economy Ministry to decide whether or not to refer the operation to the Council of Ministers for analysis by the entire government.
In this context, the biggest gains in the Ibex 35 have been seen in Mapfre (+1.80%), Telefónica (+1.59%), CaixaBank (+1.58%), Aena (+1.48%), Sacyr (+1.28%), and Repsol (+1.24%). On the downside, Solaria (-2.82%), Grifols (-2.29%), Acciona (-2.08%), ACS (-1.83%), Acciona Energía (-1.47%), and Puig (-1.30%) have stood out.
In the commodities market, the Brent crude oil barrel, a European benchmark, rose by 3.84% to $62.56, while the Texas barrel added 4.20% to reach $59.53.
In the debt market, the yield on the Spanish 10-year bond reached 3.188% after gaining two basis points, while the risk premium against German debt reached 65.2 basis points.
As for the currency market, the euro appreciated by 0.23% to reach an exchange rate of 1.1343 dollars.
On the other hand, the troy ounce of gold advanced by 1.86% and was trading at $3,396, while Bitcoin rose by 0.34% to $94,533.
