Naturgy has posted the best result (3.36%) given the possible entry of new investors

MADRID, 16 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Ibex 35 resumed its decline this Tuesday with a fall of 1.5%, reaching 10,526.9 points - the lowest level from a month ago - in a day of widespread declines in the stock markets due to the context of accumulation of risks and uncertainties and in which the Spanish indicator has been pressured downwards by banking values ​​(its sectoral index has fallen by more than 2%).

The main index of the Spanish market has thus concluded the session with its second worst result so far this year after the one obtained on April 5, the date on which it fell 1.58%.

The Spanish selective has started downwards, following in the wake of the falls on Wall Street the day before and in Asia in the early morning, and although it has later managed to moderate the negative sign by recovering 10,600 integers, it has been once again pressured by the afternoon after the opening of the New York indices.

Although Iran's attack on Israel in response to the hostilities against its embassy in Damascus was not felt this Monday, the increase in tensions with a possible escalation ended yesterday night affecting the aforementioned US indices, a situation that has transfer today to all stock exchanges.

During this morning there have also been falls of around 2% in the Asian indices. Today it was learned that China's GDP registered an expansion of 1.6% in the first three months of 2024, although analysts predict a downward correction in the future due to the uncertainty of external demand and the 'brick' crisis.

The chief China economist at Oxford Economics, Louise Loo, has advanced that although real GDP accelerated sequentially in the first quarter, supported by the excellent performance of the manufacturing sector and household spending, the activity data of March "suggest that momentum is fading" and, with inventory builds likely to be substantial, post-holiday normalization of retail sales, weak and unpredictable external demand, and still-cautious stimulus, it is expected that growth "will slow in the second quarter."

For its part, the growth of the world economy will be slightly stronger than previously expected, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has raised its previous forecast for 2024 by one tenth, to 3.2%, while maintaining without changes also in 3.2% in 2025, as a consequence of a greater impulse from the United States, in contrast to the weaker recovery now expected for the eurozone, where only Spain sees its growth expectation improved among the large economies of the bloc .

In line with this, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, assured this Tuesday that the institution she directs continues to maintain its roadmap of cutting short-term interest rates unless some type of relevance disturbance.

"We are observing a disinflationary process that is advancing according to our expectations," Lagarde said in statements to CNBC on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and which have been reported by Europa Press.

In the afternoon, it was learned that industrial production in the United States expanded by 0.4% in March, which equals the advance recorded in the second month of 2024, which means adding two consecutive months of growth and breaking with the previous cycle that alternated increases and decreases, as reported this Tuesday by the United States Federal Reserve (Fed).

In the business field, Naturgy has highlighted the possible entry of new investors, something confirmed by CriteriaCaixa, a reference shareholder with 26.7% of the capital.

Specifically, Natrugy posted the best result on the Ibex this Tuesday with an increase of 3.36% - although it rose more than 8% during the session - after CriteriaCaixa confirmed that it is holding "preliminary" talks with a potential investment group that is "in contact with some of Naturgy's reference shareholders and interested in reaching a potential partner agreement with Criteria."

One of the possible investors would be a private group from the United Arab Emirates (USA), specifically from Abu Dhabi, which would keep all or part of the capital that is currently in the hands of the CVC and GIP funds - which control 41.3 % of the total--.

So far this year, the energy company, the first gas company and the third largest electricity company in Spain, has accumulated a depreciation on the stock market of 20.3%, and the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) warned at the beginning of April about the scarce capital company float.

On Tuesday, only seven other companies have managed to escape losses and make gains: Aena (0.23%); Merlin Properties (0.3%); Endesa (0.47%); ACS (1.33%); Grifols (1.38%); Acciona Energía (1.99%); Solaria (2.79%).

On the other hand, the companies with the worst performance have been ArcelorMittal (-6.94%), Acerinox (-6.05%), Banco Sabadell (-3.44%, affected by the ex-dividend effect), Mapfre (- 3.13%), Repsol (-2.84%), Banco Santander (-2.54%), Colonial (-2.52%), Celnexx (-2.28%) and BBVA (-2.05% ).

The falls on the stock market have been widespread in the main European stock markets: Paris fell 1.4%; Frankfurt 1.44%; Milan 1.65% and London 1.82%. Regarding the United Kingdom, this Tuesday it was published that the unemployment rate stood at 4.2% in the three months until February 2024, compared to the 3.9% reading corresponding to the three months until January 2024. 2024, which represents the highest level of unemployment in the country in six months, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

At closing time in the Old Continent, in the raw materials market, a barrel of Brent rose 0.05%, to 90.1 dollars, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) stood at 85.46 dollars, 0.07% more.

In the debt market, the yield on the Spanish bond maturing in ten years has closed at 3.326% after adding five basis points, while the risk premium (the differential with the German bond) has remained at 84, 2 points.

In the foreign exchange market, the euro remained practically stable against the dollar, trading at an exchange rate of 1.0627 'greenbacks' for each unit of the community currency.