Ibex consolidates the 9,400 points ahead of US employment report

European stock markets are preparing to close a week full of central bank meetings and business results. In Spain, the bank has finished this Friday to publish the accounts of the banks of the Ibex with Popular, which has reported losses of almost EUR 3,5 billion.

The Spanish index is trading slightly up on Friday and remains above 9,400 points thanks to other banks, which rise on average by 0.5%. Caixabank stands out, rising over 1.5%.

In the business context, although the results season continues its course, the chapter of banks is closed with Banco Popular. The entity that will chair Emilio Saracho from February 20 is sinking 8% in stock market after suffering a historical loss of 3,485 million euros.

Markets will also be on the lookout for the first employment report following Donald Trump's inauguration. Analysts expect the United States unemployment to remain at 4.7%, while the forecast for January's non-farm payrolls is a creation of 175,000 new jobs.

At the international level, the most important news came from the United Kingdom, where in addition to presenting a white paper explaining the basic points for leaving the European Union, there was a decision on monetary policy by the Bank of England. The British central bank decided to keep interest rates stable at 0.25% after the rebound last August, two months after the referendum vote.

After the break for the lunar new year, the People's Bank of China has decided to raise the short-term interest rate, also known as 'repos', 10 basis points to 2.35%. This measure reinforces a shift towards stricter monetary policy, focused on limiting corporate leverage and reducing long-term risk.