The Ibex 35 of the Madrid Stock Exchange has concluded the session this Monday with an advance of 1.25%, which has allowed it to recover the level of 19,700 points that it had ceded at the close of last week. Specifically, the main Spanish index has finished the day at 19,724.4 points, on a day conditioned by diplomatic movements in the Middle East, which have led the price of crude to fall below 100 dollars per barrel for the first time since September 9.
During the weekend, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, expressed his willingness to hold a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Masud Pezeshkian, taking advantage of the annual session of the UN General Assembly, which takes place this week in New York.
Despite this, incidents in the Strait of Hormuz continue and both Washington and Tehran maintain their positions and threats, with no quick solution in sight to the confrontation. In this line, the President of the Iranian Parliament, Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf, insisted this Sunday that free passage through the strategic strait will not be allowed as long as Tehran's demands are not accepted, including the lifting of sanctions and the cessation of hostilities.
As a consequence of those sanctions, the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, Scott Bessent, stated this Monday that "all" Iranian airlines will cease operations starting this Wednesday, September 23.
"And how will we do it? If they land, they will not be able to be supplied with fuel, they will not be able to receive landing services, they will not be able to sell tickets, or they will be out of the dollar system," he declared during an interview granted to the American television network CNBC.
For its part, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard warned this Monday that it will respond with attacks on new targets and will employ "new weapons" if the United States launches a new round of bombings against the country.
In this context, the Brent barrel, a reference in Europe, fell by 3.35% at the close of the markets in the Old Continent, to 100.4 dollars, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a reference in the United States, decreased by 4.6%, to 95.68 dollars.
"The persistence of the risk premium and the scarce probabilities of a diplomatic solution in the Middle East keep the oil market disoriented," argues the Director of Economic Research and Next Generation at Julius Baer, Norbert Rücker.
Only five values of the Ibex 35 end in red
In the macroeconomic sphere, the People's Bank of China (PBC) has opted to keep unchanged the interest rates of its one and five-year loan facilities, considered as a reference for consumer credits and mortgages, respectively, the last cut of which occurred in May 2025.
In Spain, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) has reported that the services sector recorded a 4.8% increase in its billing in July compared to the same month in 2025, a rate almost four points below that of the previous month and the most moderate since February, when it stood at 2.1%. It has also noted that the turnover of the industry advanced by 4.1% in July compared to the same month last year, more than five points less than in June.
In the corporate sphere, it has been known before the opening that Telefónica has decided to integrate its digital business division Telefónica Tech, one of the largest subsidiaries of the group, within Telefónica España.
Aena, for its part, has emphasized that the "demanding" Airport Regulation Document (DORA III), approved by the Council of Ministers this past Tuesday, "guarantees a network of airports of general interest with the necessary capacity to respond to the evolution of air traffic over the coming decades."
Additionally, Cox Infrastructure Group has communicated that its subsidiary Befesa Desalination Developments Ghana Limited (BDDG), 95% owned by the company, has obtained two favorable final arbitration awards against Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and the Republic of Ghana for the Accra desalination plant project.
In this scenario, the largest increases at the close of the Ibex 35 corresponded to Acciona (+3.07%), IAG (+2.67%), Acciona Energía (+2.42%), Cellnex (+2.32%) and Bankinter (+2.24%). At the opposite end, only five values ended the session in negative: Repsol (-1.25%), Naturgy (-0.95%), Solaria and Indra (-0.52% each) and Arcelormittal (-0.32%).
The behavior of the rest of the major European stock exchanges has also been positive, allowing the continent to maintain valuations at maximum levels. Thus, the FTSE 100 of London has added 0.75%; the CAC 40 of Paris, 0.92%; the Dax of Frankfurt, 1.07%; and the Mib of Milan, 1.6%.
Bitcoin jumps more than 6% and returns to 85,000 dollars
In the debt market, the yield of the Spanish 10-year bond fell to 3.91%, from the 3.998% recorded at the close on Friday. However, the risk premium over the German bond of the same term rose to 47.98 basis points.
In the foreign exchange market, the euro depreciated by 0.15% against the dollar, settling at an exchange rate of 1.1480 "greenbacks" per euro.
Among safe-haven assets, gold fell by 0.65% at the close of European markets, placing itself around 4,350 dollars per ounce. At the same time, the main cryptocurrency, bitcoin, accelerated its rise, with an increase of over 6% during the session, reaching 85,000 "greenbacks," partly driven by the closing of speculative positions.
"In a 24-hour period, the total liquidations approach 275 million dollars. This indicates that a significant part of the movement has been driven by a 'short squeeze.' The signal is constructive, not euphoric. The price has done what it was supposed to do. Now we need to see if spot demand takes over from the 'short squeeze,' both in bitcoin and in the altcoin market in general," argued the Markets analyst of etoro, Javier Molina.