Ibex closes out March with a gain of 9%, best since 2013
The index has risen more than 11% in the first quarter and on Friday it gained 0.55%
- The market is situated at 10,462 points, highest since November 2015
- In company news, Abengoa heads towards zero euros per share
- En castellano: El Ibex culmina marzo con una subida mensual del 9,5%, la mayor desde septiembre 2013
Actualizado : 18:10
A great month for the Ibex. The index closed out March with a monthly gain of 9%, the best since September 2013, when it advanced 10.8%. On Friday it was also the final quarter of the year and registered a gain of 11%. Friday’s session was up and down before it powered to a gain of 0.55%, leaving the index at 10,462 points.
Gas Natural led the advances on Friday with a rise of 1.61% to 20.5 euros. Merlin accompanied it in the higher part of the table after a 1.6% gain to 10.48 euros and Cellnex Telecom, which rose 1.54% to 15.4 euros.
Among the heavyweights, Inditex finished the day 1.51% higher and surpassed 33 euros. It was accompanied by BBVA with a rise of 0.83%, with Santander finishing practically flat. Telefonica was one of the blue chips with a good performance with a gain of 0.33% to 10.48 euros.
Conversely, ArcelorMittal picked up the wooden spoon after a loss of 1.13% to 7.88 euros. Banco Popular was close by on losing 1.09% to 0.91 euros, as well as Repsol with a fall of 0.86% to 14.47 euros, hampered by a fall of 0.68% in the price of Brent crude to $52.6.
In the general stock exchange, once again Abengoa took the headlines. Friday saw the release of the 18 billion new shares. However, the shares tanked in the market, with the Class A dropping 79.78% to 0.05 euros and the Class B dropping 78.18% to 0.024 euros.
OTHER MARKETS
European markets finished in the black on Friday, apart from the FTSE 100 which fell 0.63%, on the day when the EU showed its hand for Brexit. However, the pound appeared to celebrate the guidelines, because the euro fell 0.3% against the UK currency. The CAC 40 rose 0.65% and the DAX 30 in Germany gained 0.55%. Wall Street was showing mixed signals while the US President Donald Trump continues to struggle with several issues.
Lastly, the eurozone CPI for March fell to 1.5% from 2% during the month of February against the forecast of 1.8%. This fall reinforces the idea of the European Central Bank to continue with its monetary policy. However, the last meeting of the 9 March left the possibility of further stimulus could be on the way.