IBEX holds its breath ahead of U.S. jobs in a climate of nervousness

The IBEX 35 began Friday’s session with a moderate fall, in an atmosphere of concern due to the persistent sell-off in the debt market, on a day dominated by the U.S. labor report.

The imminent arrival of Donald Trump to the White House has unleashed great volatility in the fixed-income markets, which fear an inflationary upturn due to the measures promised by the president-elect.

This concern, coupled with signs of economic strength and persistent inflation in the US, has pushed up bond yields in the main financial markets.

In this context, US job creation data (13:30 GMT) is of particular importance. If they beat market expectations, they could reinforce the idea that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates less than expected, thus intensifying the rise in bond yields.

“(U.S. jobs numbers) will decide whether or not bond IRRs (rates of return) continue to rise. And it depends on that whether the stock markets stabilize in positive or negative, because now they are weak and directionless,” said Bankinter analysts on their Telegram channel, who warned about signs of fear in the markets.

“USD (dollar) and gold are appreciating simultaneously, which is not at all indicative of a happy market, but rather of safe-haven seeking; the classic pattern establishes an inverse correlation between the two assets. We remain cautious and await further market definition,” they explained.

According to the latest Reuters poll, a net increase of 160,000 jobs is expected in December in the United States, slightly lower than the 227,000 in the previous month, with an unemployment rate of 4.2%.

Against this backdrop, at 08:05 GMT on Friday, the selective Spanish stock market index IBEX 35 fell 65.40 points, or 0.55%, to 11,833.90 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks fell 0.13%.

In the banking sector, Santander lost 0.07%, BBVA fell 0.48%, Caixabank dropped 0.04%, Sabadell fell 0.70%, Bankinter dropped 0.30%, and Unicaja Banco lost 0.22%.

Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefónica fell 0.28%, Inditex dropped 0.08%, Iberdrola dropped 0.59%, Cellnex fell 0.70%, and the oil company Repsol rose 0.22%.

(Information by Tomás Cobos; edition by Mireia Merino)