The Ibex 35 of the Madrid Stock Exchange has started Wednesday's session with a rebound of 2.81%, in a start marked by the retreat of crude oil prices below 100 dollars a barrel and with investors awaiting the evolution of the conflict in the Middle East.
In the first moments of the session, the Madrid selective advanced until situating itself at 17,528.90 points.
Brent crude, a benchmark in Europe, was trading at the opening of the continent's markets around 99.31 dollars, after a 4.48% fall. In turn, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, a benchmark in the United States (USA), was trading near 97.44 dollars after giving up 4%.
Expectations of end of the war and effect on oil
The fall in oil prices below the 100-dollar threshold occurs after the US president, Donald Trump, has assured that the Iran war will end in "two or three weeks", after considering his objective "achieved" that Tehran "will not have nuclear weapons" and amidst negotiations of what he has highlighted as a more reasonable "new regime".
At the same time, Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, has confirmed contacts with the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, although he has clarified that such messages do not constitute a "negotiation" with a country in which, he has retorted, Tehran has "no confidence".
The hostilities have impacted maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a passage that links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea and that constitutes a strategic route through which approximately a fifth of the world's oil and gas transits.
Since the start of the offensive, attacks have been registered against oil tankers crossing the area. This same Wednesday, the maritime authorities of the United Kingdom have reported that a tanker has been hit by two projectiles of unknown origin about 17 nautical miles (about 31.5 kilometers) north of Ras Lafan, a Qatari town that houses an important gas complex facing the Persian Gulf attacked by Iran in mid-March.
Navigation around the strategic Strait of Hormuz has become one of the most tense focal points of the war. Iran has de facto imposed a closure of this corridor, although it maintains that it allows passage to ships that do not align with its adversaries.
Optimism in international markets
In this climate of greater confidence given the possibility that the war in Iran concludes in a few weeks, the Dow Jones index and the Nasdaq of the US closed on Tuesday with advances of 2.5% and 3.8%, respectively, while their futures anticipate new moderate rises at the opening of this Wednesday.
The main Asian stock markets have also caught the positive tone. The South Korean Kospi has climbed 8.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng adds 2.3% and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange index progresses 1.5%. In Japan, the Nikkei concluded the session with a revaluation of 5.3%.
In the corporate sphere, before the bell rang in Madrid, LHMC Midco, participated by funds advised by entities controlled by Blackstone, has communicated the sale of 3.6% of Cirsa's capital for 77.64 million euros, at a price of 12.75 euros per share, which represents a discount close to 6.4% compared to the 13.62 euros at which the shares of the Catalan company closed yesterday.
At the start of trading, Arcelormittal stood as the most bullish stock on the index, with an advance of 5.93% moments after the opening, followed by IAG (+5.8%) and Santander (+5.24%).
On the opposite side, Repsol's shares fell by 4.3%, becoming the only component of the selective in negative in the first minutes of the day.
The main European markets also began the session in green. London's Ftse100 added 1.7% and Paris's Cac40 2.3%, while Frankfurt's Dax appreciated 3%. The Milan Stock Exchange, for its part, advanced 2.6%.
In the foreign exchange market, the euro lost ground against the dollar to trade at 1.1582 "greenbacks", while the yield required on the ten-year Spanish bond fell to 3.401%.