Ibex 35 falls below 10,900 as blue chips struggle

Aena was the biggest faller on the day, losing 2.75%. The purchase of Banco Popular last week continues to affect the banking sector, with the second worst performer being Caixabank, which fell 2.05%.

The Ibex’s biggest banks also fell, with BBVA losing 1.45% and Banco Santander 0.9%. Banco Sabadell was 1.65% lower, as was Bankia. In Bankinter’s case, the loss was 1.1%.

It also wasn’t a great day for the biggest stocks in the index. Inditex fell 1.68% to 35.79 euros, with the clothing company publishing its results on Wednesday. Telefonica was 0.4% lower at 10 euros. Iberdrola also had a poor day, falling 1.86%.

On the other hand, Tecnicas Reunidas was the biggest riser, gaining 1.45% to 34.21 euros. It was followed by DIA, which was 0.49% higher, while Abertis was flat at 16.33 euros.

In the general stock exchange, Pescanova was once again in the headlines. The company returned to the market on Wednesday and after a bad start, on Monday it gained 180.82% to 1.23 euros. In the first two days its share price fell 90%.

Liberbank shot up 41.18% to 0.96 euros after the CNMV announced the ban on short selling of the bank for the next month. The main motive behind the decision was the bank’s performance in the last two days.

OTHER MARKETS

Other indices on the Old Continent were lower. The CAC 40 in France was 1.12% lower, after the first round of legislative elections in the country, where Emmanuel Macron’s party won out. The DAX 30 in Germany fell 0.98%, while the FTSE 100 in London was 0.21% lower.

Meanwhile, Wall Street was seeing losses again of almost 1% in the case of the Nasdaq. The main three indices in New York were hampered by the poor performance of tech stocks, as investors wait on a rate decision from the Fed later this week.

In commodities, oil rises 1.3% on average after the declarations from the Saudi Arabian minister. The crisis in the Gulf will not affect prices, according to energy minister Khalid A. Al-Falih. Brent crude rose 1.2% to $48.73 per barrel, while West Texas gained 1.33% to $46.44.

With regard to the euro, the currency rose slightly against the dollar and is now at $1.1202.

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

José María Rodríguez, technical analyst at Bolsamanía, pointed out that the Ibex has been moving laterally for the last three weeks.

“It happens to be that every time we appear to be heading towards a break in the prices we end up retreating in both directions, which is what happens in lateral movements with a lot of erratic behaviour and several false signals,” he said.

“As always we like to remind that the market does not move forward. At this point it’s difficult to tell where the prices are heading, but just to be attentive of where the movement takes it.”

“We will continue to focus on BBVA, as one of the most significant stocks in the Ibex, which could turn it around to break the resistance of 7.6 euros.”