The Ibex 35 of the Madrid Stock Exchange began this Tuesday's session with a decrease of 0.92%, which led the main Spanish index to lose the 19,200 point mark and settle at 19,157.2 points, on a day conditioned by the rise in oil prices due to the new escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
In particular, Brent crude advanced 2.8%, to $85.7 a barrel, its highest level since mid-June, while WTI, the benchmark in the United States (US), hovered around $81 after increasing by 3.1%.
The increase in crude oil prices is motivated by the exchange of attacks between the US and Iran for the third consecutive night.
In this context, Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility early Tuesday morning for attacks against the US naval base in Jufair, Bahrain, headquarters of the US Central Command's naval forces and the Fifth Fleet, as well as against US positions in Jordan.
"The brave warriors of the Navy of the Revolutionary Guard, in the second wave of Operation Nasr 2 (...) have attacked and destroyed several ammunition depots, a satellite communications center, and the US forces' residence building at the Jufair base in Bahrain with their missiles and drones," announced the military arm in a statement disseminated by the Tasnim agency, linked to the Islamic Guard itself.
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On the national corporate front, the US investment bank JP Morgan has announced the accelerated placement of 83 million shares of the Spanish construction company OHLA, equivalent to 6% of its capital, for 36.9 million euros and with a discount of 9% compared to its current quotation.
In the macroeconomic sphere, the Congress's Economy Commission meets this Tuesday to evaluate the individuals proposed by the Government to renew the leadership of the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC), with a new president and three councilors.
Furthermore, Congress is holding an extraordinary Plenary session today for the first debate and vote on the deficit path and the budgetary stability objectives set for the General State Budgets (PGE) for 2027, with a majority formed by PP, Vox, and Junts that has already expressed its rejection.
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In the first minutes of trading, Sabadell was among the worst performers in the selective index, with a decrease of 1.9%, only surpassed by IAG, which fell 2.4%. On the opposite side, the biggest gains at the start of the session were for Indra (+2.5%), Repsol (+1.4), and Naturgy (+0.5%).
The main European stock exchanges also opened with declines. The FTSE 100 in London lost 0.3% and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.8%, while the DAX in Frankfurt fell 0.5%.
In the debt market, the yield on the Spanish 10-year bond rose to 3.598%.
In the foreign exchange market, the euro gained ground against the dollar and was trading in the markets at 1.1389 dollars.