MADRID, 17 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Ibex 35 resumed its increases this Wednesday with a rise of 1.02%, reaching 10,633.9 points, in a day marked by the confirmation of inflation in the eurozone in March at 2.4% in the interannual rate. and in which Naturgy has stood out (6.13%) after confirming that the Emirati company Taqa is in talks with the gas company's shareholders to execute a possible takeover bid.

The Spanish selective, which yesterday signed its second worst session of the year with a fall of 1.5% due to the context of global uncertainty, has turned this session almost entirely in the direction of increases - only eight stocks have closed with losses- and has kept the increases around 1% throughout almost the entire negotiation, which has allowed it to achieve the best result among its European counterparts.

The reaction of investors comes after yesterday the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, assured that she would cut interest rates "in a reasonably short term" if the economy goes according to expectations. .

For his part, after the closure of the European markets, the president of the Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome Powell, warned that the organization was prepared to maintain rates at their current level for the time necessary to reduce inflation.

On the macroeconomic agenda this Wednesday, it was learned that the inflation rate in the euro zone stood at 2.4% year-on-year in March, two tenths below the 2.6% rise in prices in February. , as confirmed by the community statistics office, Eurostat, which represents the smallest increase in the cost of living in the region since last November, when the reference set minimum levels since the summer of 2021.

For its part, the annual inflation rate in the United Kingdom stood at 3.2% last March, two tenths below the rise in prices recorded in February and the lowest reading of the index since September 2021. according to data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

For its part, this afternoon - with the European market already closed - the Fed's Beige Book will be published, in which investors will search for the central bank's next movements regarding interest rates.

In the business field, the Spanish market has also been affected for a few hours at the beginning of the day due to the suspension of Naturgy's trading.

The negotiation of the energy company has been allowed again after the Emirati Taqa has confirmed that it is holding talks with CriteriaCaixa, CVC and GIP regarding a possible entry into the shareholding of Naturgy. There is still no agreement on this.

Regarding this news, the first vice president of the Government and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, has stated that the Government's desire is that in companies considered strategic, such as energy, the capital that enters "is clear, transparent and to be possible Spanish capital".

Thus, at the close of this Wednesday, Naturgy has recorded the best result with an increase of 6.13%. So far in April, the energy company has accumulated an increase of more than 13% and is at its best level in the last seven weeks.

Behind Naturgy were Banco Sabadell (2.92%), Cellnex (2.8%), BBVA (2.59%), Solaria (2.41%), IAG (1.71%) and Grifols. (1.59%) and Bankinter (1.56%), which will also kick off the business results season tomorrow.

On the opposite side, only eight values ​​have ended with falls: Indra (-1.79%), Unicaja (-1.68%, affected by the ex-dividend effect), Rovi (-1.16%), ArcelorMittal (- 0.93%), Ferrovial (-0.18%), Repsol (-0.13%), Fluidra (-0.1%) and Logista (-0.08%).

The positive evolution has been common for the European stock markets, although none has reached the optimism of Madrid: Frankfurt has added 0.02%; London 0.35%; Paris 0.62% and Milan 0.72%.

At closing time in the Old Continent, in the raw materials market, a barrel of Brent stood at $88.45, 1.73% less, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 1.68 %, up to $83.93.

The yield on the Spanish ten-year bond has closed at 3.299% after subtracting almost three basis points. In this way, the risk premium against German debt has stood at 83.5 points.

For its part, the euro appreciated 0.2% against the dollar, reaching an exchange rate of 1.064 'greenbacks' for each unit of the community currency.