The Ibex 35 has concluded the session this Wednesday practically unchanged around 19,200 points. Specifically, the Spanish index closed at 19,230.7 points (+0.1%) despite having risen nearly 1% for a good part of the day.
The downward turn in the final stretch occurred after the inflation data for September in the United States was released, the publication of which triggered an immediate spike in sovereign debt yields and a temporary decline in the main European stock exchanges.
The day was also marked by increased tension in the Middle East, a geopolitical element that has once again put upward pressure on crude oil prices, keeping the barrel above 105 dollars.
The Government of Saudi Arabia has reported an attack on an "administrative building" of the state oil company Aramco in the city of Dahran -- a significant administrative center of the oil industry -- which caused a "limited fire" and for which no casualties have been reported.
At the same time, at least two ships have been hit by "unknown projectiles" while navigating through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report this Wednesday from the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which is part of the British Navy.
In this scenario, the Brent barrel -- the reference in Europe -- was at 105.8 dollars at the close of European markets, 0.1% higher, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) -- the reference in the US -- reached 95.04 dollars, 1% above.
"With the arrival of larger volumes of oil to the market -- following the agreement between Trump and Putin -- and a global deficit reduced to just a few million barrels per day, one could reasonably expect a drop in crude prices. However, the market continues to incorporate a significant geopolitical risk premium. We expect the oil market to remain extremely sensitive to headlines," explained the head of commodities and manager at Vontobel, Kerstin Hottner.
Puig supports the Ibex 35 and the CPI heats up
On the macroeconomic front, the National Institute of Statistics (INE) has confirmed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased its year-on-year rate by six tenths in September, to 4.9%, the highest level since February 2023, when it was at 6%.
As a result of the evolution of prices, the first vice president of the Government and minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, has emphasized that the increase in energy costs linked to the war in Iran has not yet been passed on to the price of food. For his part, the general director of Economics of the Bank of Spain, David López Salido, has urged to prepare for "more volatile" inflation and, under certain circumstances, "higher and more persistent" in the medium term on a global scale.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of the United States stood at 3.7% year-on-year in September, after advancing 0.6% in the month, driven by the increase in gasoline prices, which accounts for more than half of the monthly increase of the overall items, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.
"Although energy prices may be grabbing the headlines, the CPI data from the US released today suggests that the inflation problem is much deeper. A reading of core inflation higher than expected adds to the growing evidence that pressures on internal prices are strengthening, rather than easing," warned the senior economist of Schroders, George Brown.
On the corporate front, Bank of America reported a net profit attributable of 6.541 billion dollars (5.842 billion euros) in the third quarter, which implies a decrease of 17% compared to the same period of the previous year, a drop explained by the 1.2 billion dollar (1.080 billion euros) fine imposed by the US Treasury for "violations of anti-money laundering and sanctions laws."
For its part, the investment bank Morgan Stanley recorded 4.751 billion dollars (4.247 billion euros) in profit between July and September 2026, which represents an increase of 7% compared to those same months of 2025.
In Spain, Avatel Telecom has proposed a redundancy plan (ERE) that will result in the departure of 444 workers, 33.5% of its workforce of 1,325 employees, affecting practically all its areas and departments, according to what the unions UGT and Fetico have stated this Wednesday.
In this context, the highest values of the day have been Puig (+4.1%), Rovi (+2.79%), Repsol (+1.55%), Colonial (+1.31%) and Indra (+1.23%). On the downside, Solaria (-3.8%), Acciona Energía (-2.39%), Acciona (-1.77%), Merlín (-1%) and Telefónica (-0.86%) stood out.
The rest of the major European markets ended the session in positive territory, except for the Italian FTSE Mib, which fell by 0.61%. In contrast, the German DAX 30 rose by 0.15%; the French CAC 40, by 0.58%; and the British FTSE 100, by 0.7%.
The US CPI drives bond yields and pressures the euro
In the debt market, the yield on the Spanish 10-year bond rose to 4.084% after the inflation data in the United States was released. Thus, the risk premium over the German 'Bund' remained at 61.02 basis points.
In parallel, in the United States, the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond stood at 5.25% and in France at 4.87%, while in the United Kingdom it fell to 5.417%. In this regard, Brown has pointed out that "markets have reasons to consider that monetary policy will have to become much more restrictive for inflation to return to the target level," although he doubts that the Federal Reserve is "prepared" to tighten monetary policy to the level that inflation expectations discount.
In the foreign exchange market, the euro lost ground against the dollar, placing the exchange rate at 1.1123 "greenbacks" per euro. At the same time, the appreciation of the US currency and the increase in the financing cost for states penalized the main safe-haven asset, gold, which fell by nearly 2% and stood at 4,050 dollars per ounce at the close of European stock exchanges.