The IBEX 35 fell 0.21% to 9,213.10 points by mid-market. The Spanish selection came out of the count by advances all days of the past week.
The biggest declines were in Fluidra, which fell 3.40%, compared to 2.67%, which ArcelorMittal lost at the same time. EI analyst José Antonio González gives us the keys to regain investor interest in this stock, which currently warrants caution. On the advance payments side, the biggest gains are for Repsol, which is up 2.19% on the back of higher oil prices. These are the levels to watch.
One of the protagonists of the session is ACS, after learning that it has agreed to acquire the remaining 21.62% of the American Blueridge Transportation Group, which manages a section of the SH-288 freeway in Houston, Texas. According to the company, the purchase price is 450 million US dollars, and it will be operated by the North American company ACS Infrastructure Development, a subsidiary of IRIDIUM, which at the time is a concession company of the ACS Group.
The execution of the sale is subject to compliance with the usual conditions for this type of operation, ACS added.
One stock trying to return to its best levels of the year is Mapfre. The first insurer on the market again regains part of the lost ground with the idea of surpassing the level of 2 euros per share, lost together before the problems began in the sector, and making slight progress in 2023.
Investors today need to pay attention again to the course of the banking sector, which has been in the eye of the hurricane for the past few weeks. Although the waters appear to have calmed down in recent sessions, investors are having breakfast today a new chapter in the Credit Suisse soap opera after learning that Swiss prosecutors have opened an investigation into the bank’s takeover by UBS Group.
Prosecutors are investigating possible violations of the country’s criminal law by government officials, regulators and executives at the two banks, which last month agreed on an emergency merger to prevent the country’s financial system from collapsing. “There were “numerous aspects of the events surrounding Credit Suisse” that merited investigation and needed to be investigated in order to “identify any crimes that might fall within the (prosecutor’s) jurisdiction,” the statement said.
Elsewhere in Europe, the FTSE 100 is up 0.63% to 7,682, the CAC 40 is up 0.24% to 7,339, the FTSE MIB is up 0.41% to 27,224 and the EURO STOXX 50 is up 0.10% to 4,319 .35 points. For its part, Germany’s DAX is down 0.14% to 15,607.65.
Fear of inflation due to rising oil prices
Oil prices rallied on Monday, shaken by OPEC+’s surprise announcement over the weekend that it would cut production further. Brent crude traded at $84.28 a barrel, up 5.43%. US West Texas is up 5.63% to close at $80 a barrel ($79.96).
Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers on Sunday announced voluntary production cuts of about 1.16 million barrels a day.in a move that has taken investors by surprise.
“The little bit of ‘good news’ that inflation has brought in both Europe and the US in recent months has come hand-in-hand with energy prices, ie a rebound in them it can complicate the already difficult task facing central banks in their fight against this variable,” recalled Juan J. Fernández-Figares of Link Securities. Therefore, “We believe that the OPEC+ decision, already cut by 2.0 million barrels a day months ago, will not be well received by either the bond or equity markets, although there will be listed companies like those who directly related to oil (oil companies) and indirectly (engineers and pipe makers) who we hope will be well received”.
The fall is also being felt in currency markets, with the dollar gaining against its major international counterparts as inflationary fears resurface. The euro fell 0.44% to $1.0791 after being touched a one-week minimum of $1.0788, while the Japanese yen slipped 0.46% to 133.41 per dollar. Sterling stands at $1.2277, down 0.45% from the previous session.
On the bond market, the yield on Spanish bonds with a ten-year term fell to 3.322%, which means that the risk premium compared to Germany, at 99.40 points, is below 100 points again. Across the Atlantic, the US benchmark 10-year bond yield is 2.53%.
In the macroeconomic section, investors spent all morning hearing the final figures for March from the leading activity indices, the PMIs compiled by S&P Global. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the euro-zone manufacturing sector came in at 47.3 in March, above a preliminary estimate of 47.1 Spain’s manufacturing PMI rose to 51.3 in March. Analysts had expected the index to fall to 50.1. Data for February had shown a level of 50.7. A reading above 50 indicates growth, while a reading below indicates a contraction in the sector.
Asian factory activity also lost momentum in March as weak external demand weighed on production, surveys showed on Monday suggesting the deteriorating global outlook will continue to weigh on the region’s economic recovery and keep currency leaders on their toes .
Export-dependent Japan and South Korea reported slower manufacturing activity in March, while growth in China faltered, highlighting the challenge Asia faces as authorities seek to keep inflation under control and headwinds from slowing global economic momentum to fend off
On the Japanese stock market, however, the Tokyo Nikkei 225 index closed with a plus of 0.52% to 28,188 points.