Strong falls in the Ibex at the start of the week as IAG and BBVA collapse

The Ibex 35 started the week with notable falls of 1.76% (8,343.50 points), much higher than those of the rest of the European stock markets, due to the strong cuts in BBVA (-7.7%) and IAG (-5 ,5%). The bank, with significant exposure to Turkey (it has 49.8% of Garanti), blames the collapse of the Turkish lira on Recep Tayyip Erdogan's removal the president of Turkey's central bank, Naci Agbal. Abal was fired on Friday, after just five months in office, after raising interest rates.

The markets praised this measure, taken to combat inflation. President Erdogan, however, has always been against high interest rates. He usually considers them the "father and mother of all evils" and thinks, contrary to economic theories, that they exacerbate inflation.

Agbal was replaced by Sahap Kavcioglu, an economist and former MP for the ruling party, an appointment that worries investors and raises questions about the central bank's future independence. The new governor pledged on Sunday to take the necessary measures to combat inflation.

As for the IAG cuts, they have come after the British government has acknowledged that it is early to talk about summer holidays. For his part, Dr. Mike Tildesley, a member of the group that advises health officials, has said that he sees international travel "extremely unlikely" this summer. Furthermore, Deutsche has cut its advice to 'hold' from 'buy'

VACCINATIONS

Investors are still pending the evolution of vaccination once normality is restored in terms of the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, something that will happen in Spain as of this Wednesday. The UK has warned the European Union that its reputation is in jeopardy if it blocks vaccine exports.

The Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, announced this Sunday the arrival of 5.5 million doses of the Janssen vaccine to Spain. The minister insisted that the government's objective, of ensuring that 70% of the population is vaccinated in summer, is "within reach."

To all this is added that the results of a large trial carried out in the USA have shown that the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has an efficacy of 79% in the prevention of symptomatic disease and 100% against the serious illness and hospitalization. In addition, it has not found "increased risk of thrombosis."

A CALM AGENDA

Otherwise, the week begins with few references on the agenda. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel and the prime ministers of the federal states are meeting to discuss the possibility of applying stricter blocking measures after the increase in Covid-19 cases and the slowness in the application of vaccines.

On an economic level, the highlight will be the March flash PMIs for Europe and the United States, to be released on Wednesday. Also released on Friday is US PCE inflation, which is the Fed's preferred inflation measure, as well as the Michigan consumer sentiment.

In other markets, the euro rises in value 0.26% and trades at 1.1934 dollars. In addition, Brent oil rose 0.1% to $ 64.58, while an ounce of gold fell 0.5% to $ 1,733. Finally, bitcoin falls 0.7% to $ 57,218, and the yield on the 10-year Spanish bond relaxes to 0.34%.