Ibex slides lower for third consecutive day

The Ibex 35 was unable to recover on Wednesday. It moved downwards for the third consecutive day and is still at the lows of March. The index fell 0.48% to 10,131 points. The banks and the other blue chips had another bad day at the office, although Inditex managed to save itself at the end of the day.

Aena picked up the wooden spoon on the day with a loss of 2.81% to 159.2 euros. JPMorgan analysts reduced its valuation by almost 5% to 157 euros per share, below today’s closing price, from 164 euros. As a result, it was added to the list of experts which consider the company’s upward trajectory to be finished.

Caixabank also had a bad day. The Catalan entity fell 2.04% to 4.12 euros. Goldman Sachs cut its recommendation to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’. In addition, the most influential investment bank in the world says the conflict between Spain and Catalonia is ‘the most notable risk for the sovereign debt and for economic recovery.”

Returning to the stock market, Mapfre completed the lower podium after closing 1.55% lower. However, on Wednesday the heavyweights were once again a major talking point, with none of them finishing with any decent profits. Santander was the biggest drag with a loss of 0.86% to 5.3 euros. Telefonica was down 0.39% to 8.86%. BBVA was down 0.11% while Inditex was up 0.11%.

On the gains side, Siemens Gamesa led the way with a rise of 1.37% to graze 13 euros, followed by Colonial, which was up 1.21% and Red Electrica (+0.83%).

OTHER MARKETS

Other European markets saw a mixed bag on Wednesday. The DAX 30 gained 0.78%, the CAC 40 was up 0.31%, while the FTSE 100 was down 0.24%.

Investors remain alert to the tension over North Korea and will look towards the European Central Bank meeting tomorrow on the decision of interest rates, and if any details will emerge of future monetary policy. The euro is up 0.28% to $1.1948.

Wall Street is mostly flat after significant losses on Tuesday. In its worst session since 17 August, the Dow Jones was down 1.07%, and the S&P 500 was down 0.75%, while the Nasdaq fell 0.93%. Federal Reserve vice-president Stanley Fischer surprisingly resigned on Wednesday.

In commodities, oil was up 1% on average, with Brent gaining 1.2% to $54, while West Texas was up 0.95% and is now above $49.12.

Returning to Spain, the Catalan referendum date is coming closer, although domestic politics tends to have a limited impact on the evolution of the stock market, questions will be asked as the 1 October comes nearer.

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

José María Rodriguez, Bolsamanía technical analyst, pointed out that it was another day for the Ibex behind its European rivals. While the rest of Europe heads towards resistances of the lower channels, “our index is hanging dangerously at the support base.”

“At the moment what is undeniable is that investors prefer to put their money in every other index in Europe apart from ours,” Rodriguez said.