The Ibex 35 has closed the session this Wednesday with a slight increase of 0.05%, standing at 20,067.30 points. The Spanish selective index has managed to support itself at the threshold of 20,000 units on a day marked by the decline of Brent oil, which has settled around 88 dollars per barrel, and by the caution of investors ahead of the results of the American chip manufacturer Nvidia.
Throughout the day, the market has remained very attentive to the evolution of the situation in the Middle East, after the economic offensive of the United States against Iran and the dialogue that the Islamic Republic and Oman are maintaining to ensure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Omani Foreign Minister, Badr al Busaidi, met yesterday in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi, to discuss "a phased plan" that allows for the "safe" resumption of maritime traffic in Hormuz. This scheme contemplates the creation of a joint temporary maritime corridor and a common demining project in the area.
Iranian authorities have emphasized, however, that this "phased plan" agreed with Oman to manage transit through the strait does not imply the "immediate opening" of this strategic enclave, as its unlocking will depend on the fulfillment of the conditions set by Tehran. Otherwise, they have warned, this route "will remain closed."
Qaribabadi has detailed that access to the Persian Gulf will be through Iranian waters, while the exit will run through Omani territorial waters, although "in both, the ships will cross Iranian waters" within a kind of "two-way highway with a total width of about seven miles (about eleven kilometers)."
The deputy minister has specified that this corridor will have a "temporary" nature and that Iran and Muscat must agree, within a period of 30 to 60 days, on a route that is "permanent." In addition, he has pointed out that "the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz will be closed," referring to the southern corridor under U.S. control, through which about 10 million barrels of crude oil transit daily. "This is an agreement. Oman accepts that this route be closed, and the matter will be communicated to the International Community," Qaribabadi has emphasized.
In this geopolitical context, the price of Brent, a reference in Europe, fell by 0.36% at the close of the markets in the Old Continent, to 88.26 dollars per barrel. For its part, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a reference in the United States, decreased by 0.16%, to 82.23 dollars.
On the macroeconomic front, the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce of the United States has confirmed in its second estimate that the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country grew at an annualized rate of 1.5% in the second quarter, equivalent to a quarterly advance of 0.4%.
Traders are also keeping an eye on Nvidia's earnings, which will be made public at the end of the session on Wall Street. Analysts at Bankinter point out that "beyond the impact on the day of results (the market is especially demanding and the slightest shortfall can lead to profit-taking), we believe that the fundamentals of the company are very solid and our predisposition would be to 'buy on weakness' if declines occur."
At the same time, investors are preparing for the central bankers' summit in Jackson Hole, which begins tomorrow Thursday and in which the president of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, will speak on Friday in his first participation in this forum.
Regarding this meeting, the director of wealth investors at Neuberger, Shannon Saccocia, pointed out that "it is likely that unease will persist in the fixed income market, but it is not the short end of the curve - which the Fed controls - that is generating concern, but the long end, and it is unlikely that anything will come out of Jackson Hole that could change the perception of greater growth and greater debt."
On the national level, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) has released the figures for mortgages on homes corresponding to June, a month in which 45,907 loans were signed, 10.8% more year-on-year and the highest volume for a June in the last 16 years.
Within the Spanish stock market, the largest increases of the day have corresponded to Acerinox (+3.19%), ArcelorMittal (+2.93%), Puig (+1.73%), Fluidra (+1.08%) and BBVA (+1.05%). On the contrary, Ferrovial has led the declines with a drop of 4.95%, followed by Telefónica (-2.04%), Cellnex (-1.51%), Acciona (-1.41%) and Banco Sabadell (-1.27%).
In the rest of Europe, only the British index FTSE 100 has ended in negative, with a drop of 0.07%. The French Cac 40 has advanced by 0.27%, the German Dax by 0.08%, the Italian FTSE MIB by 0.31%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 by 0.23%.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the main New York indices were registering slight declines in anticipation of Nvidia: the Dow Jones was down 0.29% at the close of European markets, the S&P 500 by 0.02%, and the Nasdaq 100 by 0.26%.
In the debt market, the yield of the Spanish ten-year bond was at 3.673%, with the risk premium against the German bond of the same term at 44.57 basis points.
In the foreign exchange market, the euro depreciated by 0.20% against the dollar, to an exchange rate of 1.1652 "greenbacks".
Regarding assets considered safe havens in times of tension, the price of an ounce of gold fell by 0.9% to 4,651 dollars, while bitcoin, the cryptocurrency with the highest market capitalization, dropped by 1.84% to 78,048 dollars.