MADRID, 21 (EUROPA PRESS)
The Ibex 35 has managed to reverse the losses it had recorded throughout almost the entire session and closed Thursday with a slight gain of 0.08%, helping it reach the 15,300 mark it lost yesterday and register a new high since December 2007. Thus, tomorrow it will open at 15,303.8 points.
Investors are looking ahead to the annual meeting of central bankers, which begins today in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, after learning yesterday of the minutes of the July meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed).
Renta 4 analysts point out that the minutes reflect Fed bankers' concern about inflation, which remains above 2%, and that they continue to prioritize price stability over the labor market, since, despite signs of slowdown, "it remains robust."
"Some members have commented that inflation has been above the 2% level for an extended period, raising the risk of long-term inflation expectations becoming unanchored. Indeed, there is no consensus on the impact of tariffs on inflation, with a few members believing that the effect will be temporary rather than persistent," the experts added.
Likewise, the European Union finalized a formal agreement with the United States on Thursday for a general 15% tariff on its exports, which will also apply to sectors such as pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, although in the case of vehicle surcharges, it is conditional on improved access to American agricultural products and food.
In this way, both blocs have put into writing the political agreement reached in Scotland three weeks ago between EU President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump. The text, although not legally binding, is seen as a roadmap for trade policy between Washington and Brussels.
In addition, the PMI private sector activity indices were released this Thursday. In the eurozone, this indicator showed improvement in August thanks to the boost in manufacturing and despite tariff obstacles, rising to 51.1 points from 50.9 in July, thus registering its highest level in 15 months.
Furthermore, the economies of Germany and France, the two largest in the eurozone, showed slight signs of improvement during the month of August, after digesting the initial impact of trade tensions with the United States, according to advance readings of their respective PMI indices.
The US private sector PMI also showed acceleration in August, driven by the manufacturing industry, reaching 55.4 in August, up from 55.1 the previous month.
In this context, the largest increases in the Ibex 35 were those of Repsol (+1.61%), CaixaBank (+1.33%), Indra (+1.08%), BBVA (+1.02%), Santander (+1.02%) and Unicaja (+1.00%).
On the decline side, Telefónica stood out, falling 4.81% amid rumors of a capital increase. It was followed by ArcelorMittal (-2.56%), Puig (-1.79%), Acerinox (-1.47%), Fluidra (-1.39%), and Cellnex (-1.06%).
The rest of the main European stock markets also closed slightly higher: Milan rose 0.35%; London, 0.23%; and Frankfurt, 0.07%. Paris alone lost 0.44% today.
The price of a barrel of Brent crude, the benchmark for Europe, rose 0.81% to $67.38, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark for the United States, rose 0.78% to $63.20.
In the foreign exchange market, the euro's exchange rate against the dollar stood at 1.1607 greenbacks, while the interest rate on the 10-year bond climbed to 3.344% and the risk premium remained at 57 basis points.
