Spanish equities closed lower on Friday, with the IBEX 35 finishing the session down 1.25% in Madrid. Losses concentrated in the Financial Services & Real Estate, Building & Construction and Consumer Goods sectors were cited as the primary drags on the market's performance.
Among the IBEX 35 constituents, Cellnex Telecom SA (BME:CLNX) was the top performer, rising 2.28% - a gain of 0.67 points - to finish at 30.01. Acciona (BME:ANA) followed with a 1.93% increase, adding 3.60 points to end the day at 189.70. Repsol (BME:REP) also closed higher, up 1.89% or 0.32 points to 16.99.
On the downside, Acerinox (BME:ACX) led losses among the index's members, slipping 4.58% - down 0.63 points - to 13.12 at the close. Caixabank SA (BME:CABK) fell 4.53%, a 0.48-point decline, to finish at 10.02. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BME:BBVA) declined 3.44%, shedding 0.68 points to settle at 19.11.
Market breadth in Madrid was narrowly negative: falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones by 91 to 90, with 27 issues ending unchanged.
Commodities showed mixed moves. Gold Futures for April delivery climbed 1.77%, up 87.74, to trade at $5,036.14 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for March delivery slipped 0.06% - down 0.04 - to $62.80 a barrel, while the April Brent contract rose 0.18%, up 0.12, to $67.64 a barrel.
Currency markets were relatively steady at the close. EUR/USD was essentially unchanged, moving 0.03% to 1.19, and EUR/GBP was also flat, quoted 0.15% to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures traded lower by 0.06% at 96.78.
For investors and observers, the session underscored a narrowly balanced market where a small edge in decliners coupled with weakness in several cyclical and financial sectors produced a modest but clear downward move in the benchmark.