China reactivation boosts Ibex-35 pending Fed rate debate

March 3 (Reuters) – Spain’s main stock index opened trading on Friday pointing to a weekly rise, infected by general good mood over the prospect of a rebound in the Chinese economy, as uncertainty persists over whether the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will apply more moderate interest rate hikes than in recent months.

Moderate optimism supported markets earlier in the day, after new macro data – in this case, the Caixin/S&P Global Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) – showed the world’s second-largest economy recovering with firmness after removal of COVID controls and return to activity.

Attention will now shift to the annual parliamentary session where China’s leaders will set their growth targets, economic policies and changes of government.

On the other hand, in the US, there was also some relief after comments from Fed officials reversed Wall Street’s losses overnight.

Despite the fact that macro data showed the strength of the US economy and resilience to Fed measures to quell persistent inflation, Atlanta Federal Reserve Chairman Raphael Bostic said increases in interest rates should be moderated in magnitude at future meetings to avoid the risk of unduly damaging the economy.

So the key will now be in the macroeconomic data that will be released ahead of the March 21-22 Fed meeting.

It is hoped that the Fed moderates the subidas of tipos antes que el Banco Central Europeo, ya que el reciente repunte de la inflation en el Viejo Continente acentúa las apuestas por nuevas subidas, y ya ha anunciado y confirmed una subida en la reunion del 16 Of March.

Thus, at 08:05 GMT on Friday, the selective Spanish stock exchange Ibex-35 rose by 48.00 points, or 0.51%, to 9,375.30 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of major European stocks advanced by 0.49 %.

Over the whole week, the Ibex-35 posted an increase of 1.89%​​.

In the banking sector, Santander rose by 0.60%, BBVA recorded 0.47%, Caixabank rose by 0.23%, Sabadell gained 0.45%, Bankinter appreciated 0.30% and Unicaja Banco lost 0.08%.

Among the major non-financial stocks, Telefónica fell 0.23%, Inditex rose 0.62%, Iberdrola rose 0.75%, Cellnex gained 0.96% and the oil company Repsol lost 0.26%.

(Reporting by Jose Muñoz, editing by Tomás Cobos)