The Ibex 35 of the Madrid Stock Exchange began this Wednesday's session with an advance of 1.23%, in an opening driven by the collapse of crude oil prices below 100 dollars a barrel, after the two-week ceasefire sealed between the United States (USA) and Iran just a couple of hours before the ultimatum of the American president, Donald Trump, expired.
In the first moments of the session, the Madrid selective index stood at 17,659.40 points. However, after the first minutes of trading, the Ibex accelerated its gains up to 3.71% and managed to surpass the level of 18,093.1 points.
The Brent barrel, a reference for Europe, was around 94 dollars at the start of European markets, after a 13.5% decline, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a reference in the US, was moving around 96 dollars after falling 15%.
This strong downward adjustment of oil, which remains above the 72 dollars per barrel prior to the outbreak of the war in Iran, comes after Trump has agreed to temporarily halt attacks against Iran for two weeks, provided that the Central Asian country consents to the "total, immediate, and secure" opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The American president, in a message disseminated on his social network, has specified that "it will be a reciprocal ceasefire" and has argued that the US has "met and exceeded all military objectives" after the surprise offensive coordinated with Israel against Iran last February 28.
At the same time, Iranian authorities communicated in the early hours of this Wednesday that during that two-week period "safe" transit will be allowed through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, although "through coordination" with the Armed Forces of the Asian country.
Maritime traffic around the Strait of Hormuz, a passage through which approximately a fifth of the world's oil and gas circulates, has become one of the main focal points of tension in the conflict. Iran had established a de facto closure of this route, although it authorized the passage of vessels not aligned with its adversaries.
In this climate of greater confidence, Asian stock markets have registered significant advances. The Japanese Nikkei has concluded the session with a rise of 5.4%, while the South Korean Kospi has rebounded nearly 6.9%. In turn, China's Shenzhen index has appreciated 4.8% and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which resumed activity today after several public holidays, gained 2.9%.
Business movements in the session
In the corporate sphere, before the bell, CIE Automotive has announced that its general shareholders' meeting, convened for next May 12, plans to approve the payment of a complementary dividend of 0.47 gross euros per share on July 7, which is added to the interim dividend for the same amount paid in January.
Likewise, Telefónica informed last night that it has reached an agreement to divest itself of its entire stake in Telefónica Mexico in favor of the Melisa Acquisition consortium, formed by Oxio and Newfoundland Capital Management, for 450 million US dollars (about 389 million euros at the current exchange rate).
Macroeconomic references and sanctions
On the macroeconomic level, the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030 has confirmed the sanction of 3.6 million euros imposed on Alquiler Seguro for "abusive" practices against its tenants, after dismissing the appeal filed by the real estate company.
In addition, this Wednesday starts the Income and Wealth Campaign for the 2025 fiscal year with the possibility of submitting declarations online.
Featured Stocks and other markets
At the start of the session, Sabadell was positioned as the index's highest-gaining stock, with a rebound of 4.86% moments after the opening, followed by Bankinter (+4.35%) and Sacyr (+4.25%). On the opposite side, Amadeus shares fell by 2.68%, IAG's by 1.88%, and Repsol's by 1.32%.
The main European stock markets also started the day with strong gains. London's Ftse100 rose 2.6% and Paris's Cac40 3.6%, while Frankfurt's Dax revalued 4.9%. For its part, the Milan Stock Exchange added 4%.
In the foreign exchange market, the euro gained ground against the dollar and traded at 1.1698 "greenbacks", while the yield required on the ten-year Spanish bond fell to 3.35%.