Ibex hits the brakes in its attempt to finish 2016 higher

The Ibex 35 has hit a wall after last week's impressive highs, catching a breath in its attempt to finish the year on the positive side. On Monday, the index closed with a fall of 0.81% at 9,336.7 points, after last week passing annual highs of 9,412 points. Now it has the possibility of finishing 2016 positively, if it reaches a level of 9,544.

From the lows of Monday 5 December, a day after the Italian referendum, the Ibex has risen more than 10%. In addition, Bolsamania analyst César Nuez said that the Eurostoxx 50 is performing very well. "It's going stride for stride with the Ibex, last week it broke the resistance of 3,100 pints," he said.

The worst performer in Spain was ArcelorMittal, which fell 4.69% to 7.10 euros. UBS lowered its recommendation of the company in a drastic manner, from Buy to Sell. Also, it's price objective is now at 5.70 euros, having been at 5.80 euros. Mapfre was the next worst stock after seeing a fall of 3.3% to 2.96 euros.

On Monday, the banks did not have their best session. Banco Santander closed with a fall of 2.32% to 4.91 euros. BBVA fell 1.19% to 6.40 euros. The percentage of analysts who advise selling, buying, or neutral is around the same level. The only bank which finished positive was Banco Popular, with a gain of 0.59% to rise above 1 euro per share.

Telefonica had a slight fall also on Monday of 0.05%, to finish the day on 8.76 euros. The gain came after the news that its president José María Álvarez-Pallete bought 615,298 shares in the company at 8.62 euros.

On the good side of things, Cellnex Telecom led the table with a gain of 2.78% to 13.60 euros. Abertis was the second best performer after rising 1.76% to 13.50 euros. Grifols returned to positive with the third best performance of the day of 1.51%.

There was a mixed bag in the rest of Europe. The CAC 40 in France closed with a fall of 0.22%. However, the FTSE 100 in London rose slightly at 0.08%. British prime minister Theresa May called for a Brexit without any complications from Scotland or Northern Ireland.

In the oil market, at the hour of closing in European markets, Brent crude was 0.56% lower at $54.90.

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

José María Rodríguez, technical analyst from Bolsamanía, pointed out that the corrections of Monday were not too indicative of anything, as if it had risen the same amount it would continue similarly.

"For the moment, what we have is a correction inside a rally of 11% in little more than a week and a half, and the prices sooner than later will have to catch a breath," said Rodríguez.