The Ibex 35 closed this Wednesday practically flat, with a rise of 0.05%, up to 20,067.3 points, after having surpassed 20,200 points during the central part of the session.
The momentum has faded again in the last hours of trading. The index remains above 20,000 points, but has already accumulated several sessions without managing to transform its intraday gains into a close above 20,100.
Expectations are now focused on the United States. Nvidia presents its results after the close of Wall Street, one of the most anticipated corporate references by the market due to the company's weight in the artificial intelligence business and its influence over the entire technology sector.
ArcelorMittal and Acerinox lead the gains
The steel companies have dominated the upper part of the Ibex. ArcelorMittal has advanced 3.19% and Acerinox 2.99%, while Puig has completed the group of largest gains with 1.62%.
The good performance of these stocks has allowed the index to remain positive despite the sharp declines recorded by some companies with significant weight within the Spanish market.
The session again reflects a very unequal stock market: the advance of most companies has not been enough to generate a significant movement of the index.
Ferrovial falls nearly 5% and Telefónica loses 2%
On the negative side, Ferrovial has suffered the largest drop of the session, with a decrease of 4.97%.
The movement comes after the company announced this week a new major project in the United States. Ferrovial was selected to develop the express lanes of the I-24 Southeast in Nashville, an infrastructure valued at 9.2 billion dollars.
A relevant award does not necessarily translate into an immediate rise in the stock. The market also values the volume of investment required, the execution timelines, the risk assumed, and the expected return of each project.
Telefónica has fallen 2.01% and has positioned itself as the second major stock among the losses, while Banco Sabadell has ceded 1.32%.
For the small shareholder of Telefónica, the drop of a session must be related to more structural factors: cash generation, debt, the evolution of its main markets, and shareholder remuneration.
Sabadell leads the banking declines
Banco Sabadell has registered a decrease of 1.32%, on a day when the financial sector has not provided the same support to the Ibex as during other phases of the rise of the Spanish market.
The evolution of banks is still linked to expectations about interest rates. The entities have benefited for a good part of the cycle from high margins, but the market must now assess how their revenues would react if the monetary scenario changes.
The banking sector also has a considerable weight within the Ibex. The simultaneous movements of Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Sabadell, or Bankinter can end up conditioning the entire selective index even if other sectors advance.
Nvidia concentrates all the attention of Wall Street
The U.S. indices were trading with small movements at the European close.
The S&P 500 was down around 0.07%, the Nasdaq 100 was down 0.14%, and the Dow Jones was down nearly 0.3%.
The low activity is partly due to the wait for Nvidia's earnings. Investors want to see if the growth of its business maintains the necessary pace to support the high expectations surrounding companies linked to artificial intelligence.
The market will pay special attention to revenues, the company's forecasts, and the demand for its processors for data centers.
A positive surprise could once again strengthen the technology sector. A disappointment could extend volatility from Wall Street to European stock exchanges.
Europe advances while the Ibex remains flat
The behavior of the Spanish market has been weaker than that of a good part of the main European markets.
The German DAX has advanced around 0.2%, while Paris and Milan have gained approximately 0.4%. The Euro Stoxx 50 has added 0.3% and London has ended practically unchanged.
European markets continue near highs, although after the strong revaluations accumulated over the last few months, investors show greater sensitivity to rates, corporate results, and references from the United States.