The Ibex 35 rebounds 2.49% this Wednesday

BarcelonaThe Spanish stock market opened this Wednesday with a 0.67% drop in its benchmark index, the Ibex 35, amid the geopolitical and economic uncertainty caused by the joint US-Israeli offensive against Iran, and the day after US President Donald Trump threatened sanctions against the Spanish state for its stance against the war and for refusing to cede the use of military bases. However, throughout the day, the benchmark Spanish index corrected its trend and ended up rebounding 2.49%, closing the session at 17,487 points. This year, the index has already lost 1.92%. On Tuesday, the Ibex 35 closed at 17,062.40 points, after falling 4.55% in a dismal day, in which all stocks declined except for the oil company Repsol, which managed to rise 3.29% thanks to the boost from higher oil prices. This Wednesday, the stocks reversed, and Repsol was one of the few to fall (-2.85%), along with Enagás (-0.72%). These are two of the companies that have benefited most from the conflict in the Persian Gulf due to the increased price of natural gas and oil. In fact, Repsol had led the few gains on the Spanish continuous market on both Monday and Tuesday. At the other end of the spectrum, tourism sector stocks stood out, such as Amadeus (+5.56%) and IAG (+4.32%). Major banks also led the gains in this midweek session, with BBVA (+4.26%) and Santander (+3.88%) being the most prominent. Similarly, some of the worst-performing stocks on Tuesday closed the last session among the top performers, such as ArcelorMittal (+4.96%) and Acerinox (+5.35%). Renewable energy companies Acciona Energía (+4.23%) and Solaria (+4.90%) also saw gains. The Ibex 35's gains followed the trend of the rest of the European markets, where there was also some rebound after two days of declines. Specifically, Frankfurt and Milan were trading more than 1.4% higher, Paris was up 1%, and London 0.7%. Wall Street also showed an upward trend at the close of European markets.

Asian markets suffered significant declines on Wednesday. In Tokyo, the Nikkei, the benchmark index, plunged 3.61%, marking its third consecutive session of losses. The index, which tracks the 225 most representative stocks on the market, dropped 2,033.51 points to 54,245.54, its lowest level since early February. The broader Topix index, which includes the largest companies by market capitalization, fell even further, by 3.67%, or 138.5 points, to 3,633.67. In China, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.98%, dropping 40.2 points to 4,082.47. Meanwhile, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange lost 104.64 points (-0.75%) to close at 13,917.75. Seoul's main stock index, the Kospi, plummeted 12.06%. Oil and Gas

Meanwhile, oil prices opened higher in the session, rising nearly 3% before the opening of European stock markets, following a new wave of attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States and difficulties faced by oil tankers and merchant ships navigating the strait. However, the gains were pared back, settling at around 0.20%, at $81.60 per barrel. As for natural gas, the situation has become more complicated after Qatar Energy—one of the world's largest exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG)—declared force majeure for its buyers. This legal clause exempts the company from fulfilling contracts due to unavoidable circumstances, after it had to halt production last Monday following military attacks on its Ras Laffan and Mesaieed facilities.

Furthermore, natural gas became cheaper this Wednesday after two days of soaring prices on the main European market, the TTF. While on Tuesday, after a sharp rise, it closed at €54.290 per MWh, by early this morning it was already above €57 and, in the first moments of the session, had even surpassed €60, but ended up settling at €49.185, representing a 9% drop.