The Ibex 35 has concluded this Thursday's session with a retreat of 0.67%, remaining at 17,885.9 points. This result represents a milder correction compared to midday, at which point the selective index had fallen by 1.27%.
Amidst rising geopolitical tensions, the United States Army (USA) has indicated that 31 ships have been ordered to turn back or return to port "as part of the US blockade against Iran" in the Strait of Hormuz. It has specified that most of these vessels were tankers and that the majority "have complied" with the directives of the American military.
According to the director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, the global economy faces the biggest threat to energy security in history due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz linked to the conflict with Iran, which implies the loss of 13 million barrels of crude oil per day, in addition to repercussions on other essential raw materials.
In this scenario, the Heads of State and Government of the European Union will analyze for the first time this Thursday the immediate measures proposed by Brussels to respond to the energy crisis derived from the war in the Middle East, in an informal summit also marked by geopolitical frictions with the US and China and by the urgency of defining the bloc's economic and security priorities.
In the corporate sphere, Banco Santander has communicated that it will suspend from tomorrow until May 26 its share buyback program, in line with North American regulations applicable to the acquisition of Webster Bank and given that the consideration for the transaction includes shares of the bank itself.
For its part, Bankinter has opened the earnings season with a net profit attributable to the group of 290.66 million euros in the first quarter, representing an increase of 7.6% compared to the same period of the previous year.
Outside the Ibex, the supermarket chain Dia has indicated that it increased its gross sales under its brand in Spain by 11.1% in the first quarter, to 1,412 million euros.
Among the most bullish values this Thursday were Solaria (+5.45%), Telefónica (+2.94%), Redeia (+1.42%), Naturgy (+1.40%), ACS (+1.39%), and Cellnex (+1.20%). On the downside were Aena (-5.17%, due to the 'ex-dividend' effect), Indra (-3.41%), Grifols (-2.63%), Bankinter (-2.57%), Amadeus (-2.14%), and BBVA (-2.12%).
The behavior of the rest of the major European squares has been mixed. London and Frankfurt have ended with falls of 0.19% and 0.16%, respectively, while Milan has advanced 0.26% and Paris, 0.87%.
At the close of the European stock exchanges, the barrel of Brent stood at 103.52 dollars, up 1.58%, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) reached 94.39 dollars, with a rebound of 1.52%.
In the debt market, the yield on the Spanish 10-year bond has risen slightly to 3.471%, compared to the 3.466% recorded at the close of Wednesday. The risk premium compared to the German bond has increased by four tenths, to 46.2 basis points.
At the end of the European session, the euro was trading practically flat against the dollar, with an exchange rate of 1.1702 dollars per euro.