September 25 () –
The Ibex 35 closed this Wednesday with a fall of 0.38%, reaching 11,792.6 points, in a session in which the OECD’s macroeconomic forecasts and BBVA’s statements regarding its takeover bid for Banco Sabadell stood out.
The Spanish benchmark index had started trading with half-percentage point declines and, although it managed to recover during the day and move into gains, it finally opted for losses and returned to Monday’s levels, barely abandoning the 11,800-point mark.
The index has thus seen its expectations of reaching 2010 highs of 11,866 points diluted, although it did briefly trade at those levels during yesterday’s trading.
As part of the macroeconomic agenda for this Wednesday, it has been published that industrial prices fell by 1.3% last August compared to the same month in 2023, compared to the 1.6% decline experienced in July, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
On the other hand, the Spanish economy will grow this year and next well above the estimated average for the eurozone, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which has revised upwards its forecast for the expansion of Spain’s gross domestic product (GDP) for 2024 to 2.8% and to 2.2% for 2025.
On a global scale, the OECD has revised upwards its growth forecast for the world economy in 2024 by one tenth, which it now places at 3.2%, although it has maintained the forecast for next year at 3.2%.
Continuing with forecasts, the credit rating agency DBRS Morningstar has revised Spain’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2024 upwards by half a point, to 2.6%, and its forecast for 2025 by one-tenth of a point, to 2%.
Investors will also be keeping an eye on statements from Elizabeth McCaul, a member of the ECB supervisory board.
On the business front, the Minister for Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, said on Wednesday that there is no new element of assessment on the table that has made him change his opinion of opposing the takeover bid (OPA) launched by BBVA for Banco Sabadell and its subsequent merger: “Without new information, we are at the same point.”
In this regard, BBVA CEO Onur Genç indicated this afternoon that the bank is willing to work with the Government to pave the way for its takeover bid (OPA) for Banco Sabadell and its subsequent merger.
“Our clear conviction is that there are no competition problems at all,” said Genç, referring to the fact that the merger between CaixaBank and Bankia resulted in a larger bank and the regulator found no competition problems to block it.[La OPA] should be approved in Phase 1,” he added in reference to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMC).
As for other corporate operations in Europe, it is worth noting that Italian bank UniCredit has said it will not apply for a seat on the board of its rival Commerzbank, even though the Italian bank could become the largest shareholder in the German bank if the regulator authorises its 21% stake.
Given this situation, the biggest rise within the Ibex 35 was recorded by Fluidra, which rose by 2.37%, followed by Solaria (+2.34%), Redeia (+1.16%) and CaixaBank (+0.96%).
On the other hand, on the decline side, Acerinox stood out, falling by 1.8%, Puig (-1.68%), Inditex (-1.65%), ArcelorMittal (-1.02%), Indra (-0.9%) and Grifols (-0.82%).
The main European stock markets also ended the day in the red: Milan lost 0.12%; London 0.17%; Frankfurt 0.41% and Paris 0.5%.
At closing time, the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, the benchmark for the Old Continent, stood at $74.12, down 1.35%, while Texas fell 1.66% to $70.35.
On the currency market, the euro fell by 0.32% to 1.1143 dollars.
In the debt market, the interest rate on 10-year bonds closed at 2.972% after gaining four basis points, with the risk premium (the differential with the German bond) at 80 points. Therefore, there was no overtaking of the French bond, whose closing interest rate was lower than that of the Spanish bond, at 2.963%.
The troy ounce of gold was trading unchanged at $2,658, although it reached a new all-time high of $2,670 in the early hours of the morning, while bitcoin fell 1% and was trading at $63,500.
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