Ibex grazes 10,600 thanks to push from Endesa and Telefonica

Company results are the main talking point on Wednesday as six companies in the Ibex 35 reported their earnings before the open. The Spanish index rose 0.49% and finds itself at 10,575.4 points, while the companies which posted their accounts had a mixed day. The other focus of attention today is the Federal Reserve, whose meeting will take place later today after the close of European markets.

Among the firms which reported on Wednesday, Endesa, Gas Natural and Abertis recorded market gains while Mapfre, Bankinter and Bankia all fell in the Ibex. The energy company was the best performer with a gain of 3.52% to 20.4 euros. Its figures showed slowdown in profits, which fell 18% to 658m euros. However, the market expected a bigger fall.

DIA, with a rise of 2.75%, and Siemens Gamesa, which was up 1.74%, accompanied Endesa on the podium. Gas Natural also had a good day after its results, rising 1.01%. The company obtained profits of 550m euros in the first quarter, 14.7% less than the same period of 2016. Analysts from FactSet expected a profit of 581m euros.

Abertis also reported earnings, gaining 1.13% in the Ibex. The motorway manager saw a fall of 18.6% in the period to 415m euros.

On the bottom part of the table, the wooden spoon was picked up by Bankia after a fall of 2.56%. The bank saw increased profits of 6.7% to 241m euros, while Bankinter’s fell 16% to the same amount. The other bank fell 1.12% after informing of the slowdown in profits.

Their bad behaviour also spread to the rest of the financial sector. Santander and BBVA were flat after a fall and rise of 0.05% respectively. Banco Sabadell fell 0.21%. Caixabank is the only one to finish with significant gains, at 0.49%.

Mapfre fell 1.97% despite beating analyst forecasts for its results with an increased profit of 415m euros. Fitch upped its perspective of the insurance company from stable to positive.

Among the firms which helped the Ibex avoid the red on Wednesday were heavyweights Repsol and Telefonica. The oil company received an improved rating from S&P from stable to positive, which opened the door for a future rating improvement from BB-. It was 0.83% higher, while the telecoms company gained 1.38% following the naming of Ángel Vilá as CEO earlier this week.

OTHER MARKETS

European markets closed higher, in line with the Spanish index. The Dax 30 gained 0.36%. The Ftse 100 rose 0.25% and the CAC 40 by 0.54%.

The Federal Reserve will grab the attention today after the end of day results have been announced. No surprises are expected at the end of the meeting chaired by Janet Yellen. Only a communication that the US central bank will maintain interest rates between 1% and 1.25%. Any clue which gives an indication of when the next raise of rates will come for the price of money will be of interest to investors.

The euro/dollar will also be of interest, after the common currency sat at $1.1712 on Tuesday, its highest level in the last 23 months. On Wednesday the currency fell 0.12% to $1.1635.

Oil saw further gains of up to 1%, with Brent returning to above $50 thanks to a gain of 0.86%. On Wall Street, the main indices hit further records interday thanks to the results of several companies and ahead of the Fed meeting.