The IBEX 35 rose 0.5% to reach 11,595 points on Tuesday, which was shorter than usual. At the forefront of the advances today were Laboratorios Rovi, with an increase of 1.94%, while Repsol has gained 1.78%. On the decline side, IAG (Iberia) and Aena have dropped 0.85% each.
The Madrid selective A revaluation of 14.78% has finally been recorded in 2024although it is far from the annual closing highs of 12,118.70 points that it achieved on December 5. Its intraday highest point was a day later (December 6), when it reached 12,153.60 points.
If we focus only on the month of December, the balance is negative for the IBEX 35: it has dropped a slight 0.39%.
IAG (Iberia) has been the main protagonist of the stock market in 2024, with a spectacular revaluation starting in October that has led it to double its contribution in the accumulated of the yearreturning to levels it had not touched since before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.
Behind the airline holding company, the banks, led by Banco Sabadell, have shone brightly. The entity rose almost 80% in the year, also encouraged by the hostile takeover launched by BBVA. Caixabank, Unicaja and Bankinter have also registered strong increases in the accumulated figure for the year, while Banco Santander and BBVA lagged somewhat further behind, although with revaluations of more than 20%.
On the opposite side, the red lantern in 2024 has been for Solaria, with a cumulative drop in the year of more than 58%. The pressure on the renewable companies sector, together with financial results that disappointed the market, largely explain this fall. Within the sector, Acciona and Acicona Energía have also closed the year with a clear negative balance.
Grifols has not had a good year either, with a fall of practically 40%: the nightmare began when the bearish fund Gotham City Research launched an attack against it, and the last blow was the decision of the Canadian fund Brookfield to desist in its attempt to Exclusion takeover bid due to disagreement on the price with the Board of Directors. However, the highest management body of Grifols seems to have managed to calm the waters by refinancing all the debt that matured in 2025. In fact, despite the harsh stock market punishment, the value has rebounded 44.4% since mid-March It hit a minimum of 6.36 euros.
As for the two heavyweights of the Ibex 35, Inditex has gained 30% this year, although it is far from the 56.34 euros it reached at the beginning of December. The textile giant also has the honor of having been the first Spanish company to exceed 150,000 million euros in market capitalization in history. Iberdrola has risen a more modest 14%, in line with the behavior of the Ibex 35.
Wall Street, European stock markets and other markets
Today’s day has not only been shorter than usual on the Spanish stock market, but in some stock markets, such as the German and Italian ones, they have remained closed altogether. Among the markets that have opened in Europe, the CAC 40 has risen 0.9%, while the FTSE 100 in London has advanced 0.5%.
On Wall Street, futures point to a positive opening after the corrective of recent days, which has dashed investors’ hopes of a Santa Claus rally, which occurs when the market rises during each of the last five trading days of a calendar year and the first two trading days of January.
Of course, the correction of recent days does not prevent a historic year: the S&P 500 has risen more than 23.8%, putting it solidly on track for its second consecutive gain above 20%. The DOW JONES Industrial Average has added nearly 13%, while the Nasdaq Composite has outperformed with a gain of 29.8%.
During Asian trading, most stock markets fell in a cautious end to the year, in which investors reduce bets on strong rate cuts in the United States in 2025 and prepare for the incoming Trump administration, with the dollar holding firm against most other currencies. It must be taken into account that today The Japanese stock market has remained closed for holidaysand in fact he will not return to activity until next Monday.
In commodity markets, oil prices rise in the final session of the year after data showed China’s manufacturing activity expanded in December. However, they are on track to close lower for the second consecutive year due to concerns about demand in the main consuming countries.
Today the benchmark Brent in Europe rises 0.46% to $74.33 per barrel, while American West Texas futures advance 0.41% to $71.28.
Spot gold fell 0.1% to $2,603.69 per ounce, but has gained more than 26% so far this year, the biggest annual jump since 2010. Prices end the year, however, far from the $2,790.15 they reached on October 31.
In currencies, the dollar retreats this Tuesday, but is on track to post strong gains in 2024 against almost all its international peers, as investors prepared for fewer rate cuts in the US and for the incoming administration of Donald Trump.
The euro is on its way a decline of 5.6% against the dollar this yearwith traders anticipating that the European Central Bank (ECB) will make more rate cuts than the Fed. This Tuesday it rises 0.14%, to $ 1.0421, but remains near the two-year low of $ 1.03315 played in November.
In fixed income, the ten-year Spanish bond ends the year with a return of 3.068%, leaving the risk premium against Germany at 70.9 points. The US ten-year debt bond relaxes to 4.527%.