The Ibex does not lose sight of the 8,000 points and accumulates three days of falls

Business results are in focus. Those of Mapfre, ArcelorMittal, AstraZeneca or Credit Agricole have already been published. Attentive in the US to Disney.

The Spanish insurer is the worst value of the Ibex, with cuts of 3%, while on the positive side the increases in Solaria (reacting after several sessions of sharp falls), in Siemens Gamesa (after obtaining an important contract) or PharmaMar stand out, which has announced that it is expanding its facilities to deal with all its projects.

On a macro level, remember that the United States CPI was released yesterday, which rose 0.3% in January, while the interannual rate remained at 1.4%. This Thursday the most relevant appointment has been the publication of the economic forecasts of the European Commission, which believes that Spain will grow by 5.6% in 2021 and will lead the recovery of the block. In addition, weekly unemployment claims in the US have risen more than expected.

THE FIRST CALL

This Thursday there was talk of the first phone call between Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to a White House statement, Biden raised his "fundamental concerns" about "coercive and unfair economic practices, the crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and Beijing's increasingly assertive actions in the region. , even towards Taiwan."

The statement said the two leaders also spoke about fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, and about "the shared challenges of global health security, climate change, and preventing the proliferation of weapons."

It should be remembered that this call has occurred on the eve of the Chinese New Year, which begins this Friday. In fact, today most Asian stocks have remained closed for the holiday.

FROM WHO TO POWELL

The WHO (World Health Organization) announced yesterday afternoon that the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is suitable for all patients over 18 years of age.

"France, Germany, the Netherlands and other European countries have expressed their concern about the efficacy of the drug in elderly patients, so perhaps the different administrations could follow the advice of the international body. The EU is already playing to catch up with the UK in terms of vaccination rates, so this could be an opportunity to close the gap, "CMC Markets experts say.

On the other hand, the president of the Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome Powell, reiterated yesterday the bank's commitment to support the economy. The Fed will not consider withdrawing stimulus until the country has truly overcome the pandemic. Concerns have grown lately that higher inflation is brewing, but Powell said a rise in inflation readings in the coming months won't mean much in terms of swaying policy.

OTHER MARKETS

The euro is trading at $ 1,213 at this time. Oil, for its part, hit 13-month highs on Wednesday after the EIA report, which showed that US crude inventories fell by 6.6 million barrels. The consensus estimate was for a stock build of more than 1 million barrels. Brent is now down 0.6%, to $ 61.05, and West Texas is similarly down to $ 58.32.

Gold and silver are up, to $ 1,843 and $ 27.15, respectively. In terms of cryptocurrencies, bitcoin has reached a new all-time high at $48,360.