Spain's equity market ended the trading day with a solid advance on Tuesday, driven particularly by gains in Financial Services & Real Estate, Consumer Services and Building & Construction sectors. The benchmark IBEX 35 finished the session higher by 3.05% in Madrid.
At the close, steelmaker ArcelorMittal SA led the index movers, jumping 6.91% - a gain of 3.18 points - to settle at 49.21. Banking heavyweight Banco Santander added 5.73%, or 0.54 points, to finish at 10.01. Shares of International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. rose 5.13%, up 0.21 points to 4.34 in late trade.
On the downside, Grifols SA was the weakest performer among the benchmark constituents, slipping 1.85% or 0.18 points to close at 9.74. Energy company Repsol declined 1.05%, down 0.22 points to 20.75, while travel and technology supplier Amadeus IT gave back 0.45%, or 0.24 points, to end at 53.62.
Market breadth in Madrid was heavily tilted to the upside: 162 stocks advanced versus 38 that declined, and 12 finished unchanged.
Commodities displayed notable divergences during the session. Gold Futures for April delivery rose 2.69%, climbing 137.19 to trade at $5,240.89 a troy ounce. In contrast, crude oil prices fell sharply: the April contract for crude oil dropped 15.06% or 14.27 to $80.50 a barrel, while the May Brent contract fell 14.54% or 14.39 to trade at $84.57 a barrel.
Foreign exchange and dollar benchmarks showed modest moves. EUR/USD was essentially unchanged, moving 0.20% to 1.17, and EUR/GBP was unchanged at 0.05%, trading at 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures ended the session down 0.64% at 98.54.
Overall, the trading session in Madrid was characterized by strong sector-specific buying that lifted the benchmark, while commodities and currency markets registered mixed outcomes.