Ibex 35 makes it six consecutive positive sessions to approach 9,200 points
US Federal Reserve to decide on Wednesday whether to raise interest rates
- Oil prices rise more than 3% to mark highest level since July 2015
- Repsol was one of the best performers in the Spanish index
- En castellano: El Ibex encadena seis jornadas alcistas consecutivas y roza los 9.200 puntos
The Ibex 35 maintained its positive results at the start of the week after finishing 0.18% higher on Monday at 9,186 points, after having its best week of the year last week with a rise of 6.5%. The stock exchange demonstrated once again its strength in the near-term, after all other European markets finished in the red.
After last week's impressive showing, marked by the recovery of the banking sector, investors now will focus on Wednesday's US Federal Reserve meeting. A rise in the country's national interest rates to between 0.5% and 0.75% is expected, from the current range of 0.25%-0.5%.
The victory of Donald Trump in the elections provoked a strong reaction in the debt market. Investors are anticipating that Trump's choices for his administration will favour an increase in inflation, and it has led to a mass sell-off in the last few weeks. For example the cost-effectiveness of the Tesoro 10-year American bond hit its annual high of above 2.5%. Fed president Janet Yellen's comments will attract much attention in the next few days.
The price of oil was also moving again on Monday. Brent crude rose to its highest level this year and is now above $57 per barrel, a level it has not been close to since July 2015. This rise has been produced after agreement between non-OPEC nations at the weekend to reduce production.
Tecnicas Reunidas, the power plant construction firm, led the advances in the Ibex on Monday, with a rise of 3.2%, followed by Repsol, which finished 1.6% higher to sit above 13 euros. Russia, one of the main non-OPEC producers, has committed to a deal which reduces its production to 300,000 barrels daily.
In the Spanish market, another good performer on Monday was Telefonica. The operator was 1% higher after short traders relaxed the pressure on its stocks.
In the general stock exchange, Talgo was worst performer after a loss of 4% and now has lost everything that it gained in the aftermath of its announcement of a contract agreement with the AVE in Spain.
Bolsamania technical analyst José María Rodríguez affirmed on Monday that the interesting thing is that the Ibex continues to be "very close to the important zone of resistence of the October highs of 9,255 points."