Madrid equities closed modestly lower on Thursday as sector-specific weakness in Consumer Services, Building & Construction and Financial Services & Real Estate pushed the IBEX 35 into negative territory for the day.
At the close in Madrid, the IBEX 35 lost 0.17%.
Among individual movers, Repsol (BME:REP) was the session's strongest performer on the index, finishing up 1.78% or 0.29 points at 16.25. Telecom infrastructure operator Cellnex Telecom SA (BME:CLNX) added 1.72% or 0.44 points to end at 26.06. Utility group Iberdrola (BME:IBE) rose 0.59% or 0.11 points to 18.89 and reached an all time high in the process.
On the other side of the ledger, steelmaker Acerinox (BME:ACX) recorded the heaviest decline among IBEX 35 names, falling 3.43% or 0.44 points to close at 12.37. Real estate investment trust Merlin Properties SA (BME:MRL) slipped 2.67% or 0.34 points to 12.38, while ArcelorMittal SA (BME:MTS) was down 2.27% or 1.06 points at 45.73.
Market breadth on the Madrid Stock Exchange tilted toward sellers, with 125 stocks declining against 71 advancers; 16 issues finished unchanged.
Commodities and currencies also moved during the session. Gold Futures for April delivery declined 0.35% or 18.54 to $5,321.66 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for March delivery rose 3.07% or 1.94 to $65.15 a barrel, while the April Brent contract gained 2.81% or 1.89 to trade at $69.26 a barrel.
In currency markets, EUR/USD was essentially flat, unchanged 0.02% at 1.20, while EUR/GBP was unchanged 0.01% at 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.16% at 96.12.
Thursday's close reflected a mixed picture across sectors: energy and utilities stocks provided upside momentum for the index, while material, construction and property-related names were principal drags. Trading breadth and the session's sector leadership illustrate the uneven nature of price action across the Spanish market.