Spanish stocks finished the trading day in Madrid with a broadly positive tone on Thursday, driving the benchmark IBEX 35 up 0.78% at the close.
Sector-level support came from Building & Construction, Consumer Services and Telecoms & IT, which collectively underpinned the overall advance in the market.
Top performers
- Acerinox (BME:ACX) led the session, climbing 4.34% or 0.58 points to close at 13.94. The stock rose to five-year highs during the session, finishing at that level.
- Repsol (BME:REP) gained 3.37% or 0.74 points to end the day at 22.72.
- ACS Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA (BME:ACS) added 2.60% or 3.10 points to finish at 122.50.
Lagging names
- Naturgy Energy Group SA (BME:NTGY) was the weakest of the session, slipping 0.82% or 0.22 points to close at 26.66.
- Mapfre (BME:MAP) declined 0.76% or 0.03 points to end the day at 4.17.
- Fluidra (BME:FLUI) fell 0.55% or 0.11 points to trade at 19.89 at the close.
Market breadth on the Madrid Stock Exchange favoured advancing issues, with 126 stocks rising versus 71 that fell; 15 stocks ended unchanged.
Commodities and currencies
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for June delivery increased 1.44% or 65.80 to $4,627.30 a troy ounce. By contrast, crude oil prices moved lower: crude oil for June delivery fell 2.32% or 2.48 to $104.40 a barrel, while the July Brent contract declined 0.53% or 0.59 to trade at $109.85 a barrel.
On the currency front, EUR/USD was up 0.48% to 1.17, while EUR/GBP was unchanged 0.33% to 0.86. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.83% at 98.00.
This mix of stronger equities, elevated gold prices and softer crude oil provided a varied backdrop for market participants as the session concluded in Madrid.