The Ibex 35 closed the week with a cumulative gain of 3.84%, its best showing since April, to 19,369.50 points. This Friday’s session has again been conditioned by fears that a possible Democratic victory will curb the expansion of data centers and by uncertainties surrounding the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the markets.
In today’s trading, Spain’s main benchmark ended with a decline of 0.60%, although it still maintains an increase of 11.91% in 2026 and 20.90% over the last twelve months.
XTB’s experts emphasize that the lower presence of technology stocks in the Ibex 35 “has favored its relative performance,” although they remind that the index also maintains exposure to investments linked to artificial intelligence.
“Solaria is an example: its combination of renewable generation and data-center infrastructure places it among the companies that can capture new opportunities, but it also makes it sensitive to changes in expectations about these projects,” they illustrate.
Geopolitical tension in the Middle East and oil lower
On the international front, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has confirmed that two more oil tankers were hit by naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz as they were trying to cross “an unauthorized route,” which forced them to stop navigation after fires were declared on board due to the explosions.
At the same time, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, has stated that Iran will need 25 years to “rebuild” the country after the offensive launched in February by the United States and Israel, and he added that “soon” he will decide whether to proceed to “destroy the rest of the country,” in a context marked by speculation about a possible resumption of the military campaign.
Against this backdrop, Qatar’s Emir, Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, has pressed Trump on the need to “adopt diplomatic means” and to “avoid further escalation” in the Middle East.
In this tension, the barrel of Brent, the benchmark in Europe, was down 0.85% at the close of trading on the Old Continent stock exchanges, to $97.45. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark in the United States, stood at $90.44, 0.09% less.
Company results and behavior of Ibex stocks
In the corporate sphere, Amadeus obtained net profit of 1,081.6 million euros in the first nine months of 2026, which implies a 0.6% decline compared with the same period of the previous fiscal year.
For its part, IAG recorded after-tax earnings of 2,264 million euros between January and September, 16.2% lower than those of a year earlier. Both companies have been pressured by the rising cost of fuel and by operational disruptions arising from the armed conflict in the Middle East.
Within the Spanish Stock Exchange, the biggest gainers this Friday have been Solaria (+3.56%), Acciona Energía (+3.36%), Merlin Properties (+2.84%) and ACS (+2.41%). On the other side, Acerinox led the declines (-3.55%), followed by Fluidra (-2.28%), Mapfre (-1.85%) and Telefónica (-1.83%).
Declines in Europe, volatility driven by AI, and a reaction in Wall Street
The major European indices ended the week in negative territory: the FTSE 100 in London fell by 1.01%, the Cac 40 in Paris by 0.81%, the Dax in Frankfurt by 1.92%, the FTSE MIB in Milan by 0.90%, and Euro Stoxx 50 by 0.98%.
"Extreme volatility and capitulation signals suggest that markets could be closer to an important floor than many fear. However, prudence suggests considering whether it is time to bid farewell to the 'AI fever' as we know it," the head of Research at Julius Baer, Christian Gattiker, argued.
In the United States, Wall Street was trying to recover some of the ground lost in the previous session, with a mixed performance: the Dow Jones fell by 0.02%, the S&P 500 advanced by 0.69% and the Nasdaq 100, focused on technology stocks, rebounded by 1.54%.
Bonds, currencies, and safe-haven assets
In the debt market, the yield on the Spanish 10-year bond stood at 3.835%, slightly above the 3.824% recorded at the close of Thursday. With that, the risk premium versus the German bund remained at 59.24 basis points.
In the currency market, the euro depreciated by 0.62% against the dollar, to an exchange rate of 1.1149 'green bills' for each euro-zone currency.
As for the assets considered safe havens during periods of high volatility, gold fell by 1.06%, to 4,069 dollars per ounce, while bitcoin dropped by 1.19%, to 75,464 dollars.