Reported by Álvaro Romero Mateu
European stock markets closed with moderate declines, influenced by the rise in oil prices and caution over the lack of progress in negotiations between the US and Iran. The IBEX 35 fell by 0.5%, the EuroStoxx 50 dropped by 0.9% and the STOXX 600 fell by 0.6%.
In Asia, the session was mixed. In Japan, the TOPIX rose by 1.8% and China’s CSI 300 advanced by 0.5%, whilst Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell by 1.6%. In South Korea, the KOSPI did not trade due to a local bank holiday, having closed the previous session with a gain of 0.2%.
Key highlights of the session
The main focus of the day was once again on crude oil. Brent posted another rise and approached $98 a barrel, after expectations of a swift reopening of the Strait of Hormuz cooled.
In Spain, Inditex (up 1.5%) was the main driver of the IBEX 35 following the release of its quarterly results. The company saw its sales rise by 5.8% to a record €8.75 billion, and its shares rose by more than 5% during the session before the gains moderated.
In Europe, ASML (up 1.6%) once again stood out within the technology sector. The Dutch company closed higher and hit new 52-week highs, buoyed by the strong performance of artificial intelligence-related stocks.
In the United States, Wall Street was trading with moderate declines at the close of European markets, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq in negative territory. Even so, enthusiasm for artificial intelligence remained evident in stocks such as Marvell Technology (up 5%) at the close of European markets, the S&P 500 was down 0.5% and the Nasdaq 0.8%.
Fixed Income
A session of moderate rises in sovereign bond yields, with the market adjusting expectations in the face of the oil price rally and better-than-expected US private sector employment data.The yield on the 10-year German Bund stood at around 3.03%, after rising by around 6 basis points. In Spain, the yield on the 10-year bond closed at around 3.46%, up by approximately 7 basis points. Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury stood at around 4.50% at the close of European trading, some 5 basis points above the previous close.
Commodities and currencies
Brent crude rose again to around $98 per barrel, up nearly 2.1%, whilst WTI traded near $96. The move reflected ongoing tensions in the Middle East.In precious metals, gold corrected to the $4,440 per ounce level and silver fell towards $73.4, in a session that saw increased pressure on safe-haven assets due to the rise in yields.In currencies, the euro lost some ground against the dollar and the EUR/USD traded around 1.161.
