European stock markets closed mostly lower in a session marked by a rise in Spanish inflation, a slowdown in UK GDP and geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.
The Spanish stock market closed with slight losses on Thursday following a volatile session. The Ibex 35 fell by 0.18% to 20,168.6 points, although it did at one point exceed 20,350 points and set a new intraday high. The index started the day on an upward trend, driven in particular by the banking sector, but lost momentum as the session progressed.
Among the standout stocks, Repsol led the gains with a rise of 1.42 per cent, followed by Banco Sabadell, which rose by 1.07 per cent, and Aena, up 1.05 per cent. On the downside, Acciona fell by 2.05 per cent, Solaria dropped by 1.90 per cent and Ferrovial lost 1.61 per cent.
In corporate news, OHLA returned to profit in the first half of the year, with an attributable net profit of 0.5 million euros compared with losses of 29.7 million in the same period of 2025. In contrast, Digi Spain Telecom saw its losses rise to 14.5 million, although its revenue grew by 15.7 per cent to 515 million. Furthermore, Técnicas Reunidas announced a €1,430 million contract for a gas plant in the Middle East.
In Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 closed up 0.16% at 6,545.47 points, whilst the German DAX fell by 0.12% to 26,299.74 points. The French CAC 40 fell by 0.28 per cent to 8,650.56, and the British FTSE 100 lost 0.59 per cent to 10,769.20 points.
On the macroeconomic front, the main focus was on Spain: the July CPI rose to 3.6 per cent year-on-year, four tenths of a percentage point higher than in June and its highest level since May 2024. Core inflation rose to 3 per cent, whilst the HICP reached 3.9 per cent.
In the UK, GDP grew by 0.4% in the second quarter, two tenths of a percentage point less than in the first, although year-on-year growth accelerated to 1.2%. Meanwhile, industrial production in the eurozone remained stable in June on a month-on-month basis and rose by 0.1% year-on-year.
The day was also influenced by oil price movements and tensions in the Middle East, particularly the uncertainty surrounding shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a factor that is keeping investors on their guard.
