MADRID, 14 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Ibex 35 closed this Thursday with an increase of 0.75%, reaching 10,171.7 points, after digesting the decision made the day before – with the European market already closed – by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to maintain rates at 5.25-5.5%, while the European Central Bank (ECB) has done the same and left them at 4.5% this morning.
The Spanish selective started rising and, in general, has managed to remain above 10,200 points during the negotiation, however, in the last part of the session the advances have moderated until closing below that level.
The United States Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to maintain interest rates in the target range of between 5.25% and 5.5%, the highest since January 2001, and noted, according to Banca March experts, that Although the fight against price escalation is not over, he noted that substantial improvements have been seen, especially on the goods side, as well as positive advances on the services side.
Likewise, the latest Fed meeting has accelerated expectations of rate cuts for 2024 by rotating the ‘dot plot’ in which Fed members, for the first time in this hike cycle, see official rates lower to 12 months – a median of 4.65% by the end of 2024-.
For its part, the ECB decided this Thursday not to raise interest rates, so that the reference rate for its refinancing operations will remain at 4.50%, while the deposit rate remains at 4% and the loan facility at 4.75%.
On the other hand, the president of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, has accentuated a more conservative rhetoric compared to that used yesterday by the president of the Fed, Jerome Powell, who did hint at the possibility of future interest rate cuts, while This possibility was not even discussed on this side of the Atlantic, at least until we had more data on salaries and benefits.
On this day of central banks, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has decided to maintain the reference interest rate for its operations at 5.25%, the highest level since 2008 and unchanged for the third consecutive meeting.
This context of pivoting monetary policy has impacted this Thursday, with a special impact, on the financial sector, which has led the few falls at the close: Banco Sabadell has lost 5.06%; Bankinter 2.54%; Caixabank 2.5%; Indra 1.78%; Mapfre 1.01%; Unicaja 0.75%; BBVA 0.64% and Endesa 0.43%. For its part, Banco Santander has escaped the bearish trend in its sector and has risen 1.2%.
At the opposite extreme, Fluidra has led the increases, with a revaluation of 7.8%, followed by Acciona Energía (7.61%), Solaria (6.27%), Merlín (5.96%), Colonial (5 .55%) and Mélia Hotels (4.05%).
Within the macroeconomic agenda, first thing in the morning the Spanish Consumer Price Index (CPI) was published, which fell 0.3% in November compared to the previous month and cut its interannual rate by three tenths, to 3.2%. , due to the cheaper fuel, tourist packages and food, which moderated its growth by half a point, to 9%.
For its part, retail sales in the United States registered an increase of 0.3% last November compared to the previous month, when consumption fell 0.2%, which represents a return to growth compared to the first contraction This index has been recorded since March.
The majority of European stock markets have also concluded trading with a positive sign: Milan has added 0.21%; Paris 0.59% and London 1.33%, while Frankfurt left 0.08%.
In the raw materials market, the price of a barrel of Brent quality oil, a reference for the Old Continent, soared 3.68%, to 77 dollars, while Texas stood at 72.1 dollars, 3.68%. .77% more, due to the perspective of the aforementioned softer monetary policy.
For the same reason and, above all, due to the divergence of the messages between the ECB and the Fed, in the currency market, the price of the euro rose by 1.15% against the dollar, to 1.01 ‘notes. greens’, while the interest rate on the Spanish bond has reduced almost one tenth and has closed at 3.074%, with the risk premium (the differential with the German bond) at 97 points.
In other markets, the troy ounce of gold strengthened 0.53%, to $2,038, while bitcoin fell 0.6% and stood at $42,735.
