2023-05-16 18:16:58
Doubts on the European stock markets in a new session marked by macroeconomic references and increased tension due to the lack of agreement between Democrats and Republicans in the US to raise the debt ceiling.
With the main stock markets of the Old Continent trading in the red, the Ibex-35 lost 0.11% below 9,200 points, with the biggest falls for Acerinox and ArcelorMittal, which lost more than 1.3% at the close. At the top of the table was Colonial (+1.19%), followed by Aena (+0.98%), Telefónica (+0.92%), Amadeus (+0.78%), Ferrovial (+ 0.69%) and Meliá (+0.64%).
Investor sentiment remains cautious amid references that once again point to an economic slowdown. For example, investors learned on Tuesday that industrial production in China grew 5.6% year-on-year in April. The figure exceeds the 3.9% of the previous month, but remains well below the 10.6% anticipated by the market.
Another piece of information that the markets were very attentive to was the so-called ZEW index, which measures the confidence of German investors and which returned to negative territory in May for the first time since December 2022. It is also the third consecutive month in which the data worsens, after five consecutive rises.
Prudence also comes from the other side of the Atlantic, where the debt ceiling has already been reached without an agreement between the two political factions in the country to extend it. This is something that has happened before in recent years, but investors are beginning to worry that, this time, it will be more difficult to reach an agreement that prevents the country from defaulting and, therefore, the cascade of consequences, starting due to a credit rating downgrade.
“Despite the hysteria and the catastrophic odds of a default and downgrade, progress continues to be made on resolving the debt ceiling issue, with constructive and productive meetings between the two parties over the weekend and yesterday,” analysts trust.
In any case, the debt markets are picking up on this greater feeling of risk with a rise in yields which, in the Spanish case, ended on Tuesday with a debt auction in which the yields offered rose again. Specifically, the Treasury awarded 401.1 million in three-month bills at 3.061%. It is the highest yield since November 2011, at the height of the sovereign debt crisis.
The figure even exceeds the profitability offered by the best deposits on the market at the same term, marketed in any case by smaller or foreign entities, given the rejection that the big banks still maintain when it comes to improving the remuneration for the savings of their clients.
At nine months, the Treasury has placed 1,596 million at 3.21%, the highest figure since there are records for this term.
Meanwhile, in the raw materials market, the Brent type barrel, a reference in Europe, stood at 75.02 dollars with a fall of 0.3%. For its part, US West Texas was around $70.96.
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