Banks unable to drive the Ibex above 10,400 points

After IAG was Banco Sabadell (0.98%), Bankia (+0.88%), Enagás (+0.84%), BBVA (+0.74%), CaixaBank (+0.69%) and Banco Santander (+0.68%).

Goldman Sachs analysts maintained their recommendation of ‘buy’ on Colonial shares on Thursday. The US investment bank increased its target price by 4% to 9.6 euros. The level shows an upside of 18%, with respect to its current price of 8.11 euros.

Economy minister Luis de Guindos also spoke on Thursday about the privatisation of Bankia, affirming that it is a fundamental objective for the government.

Other European indices finished higher on Thursday by around 0.5% on a day which is marked by the opening day of the Jackson Hole symposium, where most of the world’s top central bankers will no doubt give us much to talk about. While the exact schedule is not known, what is clear is that the heavyweights of the meeting, Mario Draghi and Janet Yellen, will speak on Friday at 6pm and 9pm Spanish time, once the stock markets have closed. On this side of the Atlantic as a result any words from the pair will not sink in until Monday.

Special interest is expected from what Fed president Yellen says. Experts believe Yellen will make the case for another rate rise before the end of the year and reiterate her intention of trying to cut the central bank’s balance. In Draghi’s case, it is thought that he will continue with his careful policy of trying not to disturb the markets.

Markets will approach the event immersed in a lateral movement which has lasted all summer. The euro rose on Wednesday after pressure from Draghi and the ECB, who are conscious of the heights it has scaled this year. At the market close, the common currency fell slightly against the dollar (1.1801, -0.05%). Oil fell around 1%, with Brent at $52.14 per barrel and West Texas at $47.77.

In other news, Donald Trump has threatened to shut down the government in order to build the wall with Mexico. Wall Street closed down on Wednesday while Trump continued to generate uncertainty. Fitch has also threatened to remove the country’s triple A credit rating.

In today’s data, Thursday saw second quarter GDP figures for Spain, which accelerated its growth to 0.9%.

From a technical point of view, little has changed for the Ibex. “The market closed below the immediate resistance (10,444) and is now relatively far from the support of 10,200 points. The thing is that whenever it does surpass the resistance it would still be trapped inside a lower channel of the last four months,” Bolsamanía expert José María Rodríguez said.