El Ibex intenta no perder de vista los 19.900 puntos

European stock markets remain cautious and closed mixed after a new rise in oil prices due to escalating tension between the United States and Iran. The Ibex index extended its downtrend with a drop of 0.18% to 19,811 points. Investors continue to focus on the situation in the Middle East and its impact on oil prices and bond yields.

The U.S. Treasury announced on Friday that it would double the size of its long-term purchases of U.S. public debt. This move provided a slight relief to the rise in yields. The yield on the German Bund fell to 3.25% and the Spanish 10-year bond fell below 3.70%. In contrast, the yield on the U.S. 10-year bond rose to 4.70%. Yesterday's Federal Reserve meeting minutes revealed that many participants believe the U.S. central bank will need to raise interest rates in the future if inflation does not decrease.

Regarding the Middle East situation, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the launch of the most devastating economic operation against Iran, calling it a war and unprecedented isolation. Trump said it would impose severe economic consequences on any country that allows any form of aid to Tehran from its institutions and companies.

Following Trump's threats, the price of a barrel of Brent oil, used as a reference in Europe, continues to rise and exceeded 93 dollars, compared to 88 at the beginning of the week. The cautiousness of recent days has returned to the Ibex. The Spanish selectivity has closed the session, the seventh one with declines, with a drop of 0.18% and will reopen tomorrow from 19,811 points.

Among the stocks that have moved the index are Repsol, which rose 2.66% due to the increase in oil prices. While the banking sector dragged the Ibex down, entities like CaixaBank (+1.61%), Bankinter (+0.82%) and Sabadell (+0.91%) added points to the index. The steel companies Acerinox (-2.74%) and ArcelorMittal (-1.74%) showed the largest declines.

Ferrovial, selected to develop the Nashville, Tennessee, I-24 Southeast rail, fell 0.80%. Santander, which completed the acquisition of U.S. bank Webster Financial less than six months ago, dropped 0.60%. The rest of the European exchanges ended without a clear trend. The German DAX (-0.42%) and the French CAC (-0.57%) closed with declines, while purchases were made in the Italian MIB (+0.09%) and the British FTSE (+0.04%).

In the currency market, after the U.S. Treasury announced the increase in debt purchases, the euro traded around 1.17 dollars, its three-month highs, while the British pound changed hands for 1.36 dollars. Gold has strengthened above the 4,500 dollar level per ounce, which it surpassed yesterday, while Bitcoin purchases are strong, surpassing 72,000 dollars, a two-month high.