The Ibex 35 has concluded May with an advance of 3.26%, reaching 18,362.90 points, in a scenario still conditioned by the tension in the Middle East and by the possible peace agreement between the United States and Iran to end hostilities.
In this Friday's session, the selective index has added 0.46% and chains a weekly appreciation of 2.09%.
In this way, the main indicator of the Spanish Stock Market remains very close to its record highs. The highest closing in recent weeks was recorded on April 17, when the Spanish Stock Exchanges and Markets index finished at 18,484.5 points. Shortly before, on February 27, it marked its intraday historical maximum by touching 18,573 points.
The United States confirmed last night an understanding with Iran to extend the truce for two additional months and ensure transit through the Strait of Hormuz, a text in which the parties commit to opening a dialogue on the Iranian nuclear program, although the definitive approval of President Donald Trump is still pending.
Following this announcement, Trump communicated at the close of the European stock markets that his decision on the negotiations in Iran is imminent and that he was heading to the White House Situation Room to adopt a "final" response to the draft agreement for the cessation of hostilities with Iran.
In a message disseminated on social networks, Trump has confirmed the central pillars of the conversations advanced for weeks by US and Iranian media: Iran commits to never developing a nuclear bomb and will open the Strait of Hormuz unconditionally. In exchange, the United States will lift its blockade on the perimeter of the strait and will withdraw enriched uranium in a joint operation with Tehran and the United Nations nuclear agency.
With expectations focused on a definitive agreement and the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the Brent barrel, a benchmark in Europe, fell 1.90% at the close of the session in the Old Continent, to 91.93 dollars. For its part, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a benchmark in the United States, fell 1.64%, to 87.45 dollars.
On the 'macro' front, it was published today that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) maintained its year-on-year variation at 3.2% in May, chaining three months above 3% in the midst of the energy 'shock' derived from the war in Iran, according to the advance from the National Statistics Institute (INE).
The financial investment director of Mutualidad, Pedro del Pozo, has indicated that the figure shows "lights and shadows" for the Spanish economy. "Prices remain above 3% for several months," which shows "that the contagion of geopolitical uncertainty to the real economy is beginning to be tangible."
In the corporate arena, the general shareholders' meeting of Iberdrola took place this Friday. During the meeting, its president, Ignacio Sánchez Galán, projected accumulated profits of 21 billion euros in the period 2026-2028 and "record" dividends of 15 billion euros.
Outside of Spain and away from traditional stock markets, Anthropic has raised 65 billion dollars (55.895 billion euros) in a funding round led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks, and Sequoia Capital, which values the 'startup' responsible for AI models like Claude and Mythos at 965 billion dollars (829.831 billion euros), above the market estimate of OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT.
Against this backdrop, the biggest gainers on the Ibex 35 this Friday were Amadeus (+3.05%), Aena (+2.05%), Indra (+1.94%), Bankinter (+1.83%), and CaixaBank (+1.58%). On the downside, Grifols led the declines (-2.95%), followed by Acciona (-1.59%), Acerinx¡ox (-1.49%), Redeia (-1.01%), and Rovi (-1%).
The rest of the major European markets closed with mixed performance: London's FTSE 100 fell 0.09%, Paris's Cac 40 lost 0.07%, Frankfurt's Dax added 0.05%, Milan's FTSE MIB advanced 0.42%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 dropped 0.08%.
On Wall Street, New York indices were trading with gains: the Dow Jones was up 0.72%, the S&P 500 gained 0.31%, and the Nasdaq, focused on technology stocks, progressed 0.18%.
In sovereign debt, the yield on the Spanish 10-year bond fell to 3.352%, from 3.375% at Thursday's close, placing the risk premium at 41.7 basis points.
In the foreign exchange market, the euro appreciated 0.26% against the greenback, to an exchange rate of 1.1681 dollars per euro.
Among assets considered 'safe havens' in episodes of volatility, the ounce of gold rose 1.47%, to 4,599 dollars, while the main cryptocurrency, bitcoin, advanced 0.58% to 73,844 dollars.