MADRID, 16 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Ibex 35 registered a correction of 0.3% at midday this Thursday, reaching 11,331.3 points, despite having approached 11,400 points at the opening of a transition day for the markets as a result of the absence of significant macroeconomic references and the lack of business results.

It should be noted that the Ibex rose 1.1% yesterday, reaching a new high of 11,362.8 points – unprecedented levels since July 2015, when the index stood above 11,500 points – after knowing the decline in US inflation in April, the main macroeconomic reference of the week.

Renta 4 experts have assessed that the United States CPI, which met expectations (at 3.4% in the interannual rate and the underlying rate at 3.6%), reinforces the expectation of two rate cuts by the Federal Reserve (Fed) in 2024 compared to the only decrease that was discounted after the previous negative inflation data; The first drop, consequently, would occur in September.

In the business field of this day, the State Society of Industrial Participations (SEPI) has exceeded this Thursday the threshold of 9% in the share capital of Telefónica and is thus approaching the mandate given to it by the Government to acquire up to 10% of the Spanish operator.

On the other hand, the Swiss group J. Safra Sarasin (JSS), dedicated to private investment banking and asset management, has announced the launch of a public takeover bid (OPA) for Árima Real Estate at a price of 8.61 euros per share, which represents a premium of almost 38.9% over the price at which the SOCIMI’s shares closed this Wednesday (6.20 euros per share).

In this context, the shares of Árima Real Estate soared by 34% at midday, until exchanging its shares at a unit price of 8.32 euros, which led it to lead the increases in the continuous market of the Spanish Stock Exchange.

Under the macroeconomic umbrella, industrial production for the month of April will be announced in the United States this Thursday.

For its part, in Spain it has been known that the sale and purchase of homes registered a decline of 19.3% last March compared to the same month in 2023, up to a total of 44,878 operations, as reported by the National Institute of Statistics. (INE).

With the fall in March, home sales return to negative rates after the 5.8% rebound that had been recorded in February and which put an end to a year of consecutive year-on-year declines.

In addition, the Spanish Public Treasury has placed 5,496.5 million this day in a medium and long-term debt auction, which includes ‘green bonds’, and has done so by cutting the profitability offered to investors in all references issued, according to the data published by the Bank of Spain.

For its part, the vulnerabilities for financial stability in the eurozone have been mitigated thanks to the improvement in economic prospects, with inflation in constant decline and the recovery of investor confidence, according to the Financial Stability Report published by the European Central Bank (ECB), which warns that the outlook remains fragile as a result mainly of geopolitical risks.

The week will end tomorrow with inflation data for the euro zone as a whole, as well as several indicators for China – housing prices, industrial production, retail sales and unemployment.

Given this situation, the Ibex values ​​that rose the most in the middle section of the negotiation were Indra (1.3%), Amadeus (1.2%), Fluidra (0.92%) and Cellnex, which advanced 0. 78%, while on the opposite side were Grifols (-2.3%), IAG (-2.07%), BBVA (-1.08%), Repsol (-1%) and Bankinter (-0. 95%).

Most of the main European stock markets were down at midday: Frankfurt was down 0.26%; London 0.3% and Paris 0.57%. The exception was Milan with an increase of 0.17%.

At the same time, the price of a barrel of Brent quality oil, a reference for the Old Continent, fell by 0.3%, to 82.5 dollars, while Texas stood at 78.4 dollars, a 0.31% less.

In the foreign exchange market, the price of the euro against the dollar fell by 0.13%, to 1.087 ‘greenbacks’, while in the debt market the interest required on the 10-year Spanish bond remained practically unchanged in 3.18%, with the risk premium (the differential with the German bond) at 75.7 points.

The troy ounce of gold registered a drop of 0.1% at midday, reaching 2,383 dollars, although it came close to 2,400 dollars in the early morning, levels close to the historical highs of the precious metal.