Madrid's primary stock index, the IBEX 35, closed lower on Friday by 0.67%, influenced mainly by sector-wide losses. Shares in Consumer Services, Financial Services & Real Estate, and Building & Construction experienced the greatest downward pressure, leading to a broad market pullback. By the session’s end, the IBEX 35 reflected these sector challenges with an overall decline.
Among the day’s top performers, Solaria Energia y Medio Ambiente (BME:SLRS) led the gains, adding 3.37% to finish at 18.09, improving by 0.59 points. Telefonica (BME:TEF) also gained, rising 1.91% to close at 3.37, with an increase of 0.06 points. Amadeus IT (BME:AMA) saw a 1.74% rise, ending the session at 58.62 after advancing by 1.00 point.
Conversely, several companies faced notable declines. Acerinox (BME:ACX) experienced a 2.38% drop to 13.11, falling by 0.32 points. International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. (BME:ICAG) decreased by 2.35%, settling at 4.82 with a 0.12 point loss. Mapfre (BME:MAP) reflected a similar 2.35% decline, moving down 0.09 points to 3.83.
Market breadth indicated a bearish tone, with 110 stocks failing to advance versus 71 that closed higher, while 31 shares remained unchanged.
In the commodities market, February gold futures rose by 1.45%, increasing $71.04 to trade at $4,984.44 per troy ounce. Crude oil prices for March delivery showed a stronger upward trend, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) closing 2.66% higher at $60.94 per barrel, and Brent crude futures adding 2.58% to settle at $65.71 per barrel.
Currency markets exhibited limited movement. The EUR/USD exchange rate held steady with a negligible change of 0.24%, maintaining a rate near 1.18. Similarly, the EUR/GBP pair was largely unchanged at 0.87. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index futures declined 0.41%, ending at 97.77.