Spanish listed companies are generally better than their European counterparts at managing the uncertainty that hangs over the market. In an optimistic year for stocks, the scares of the summer months (early August and, later, the first days of September) wiped out part of the gains accumulated by the indices. In this context, the Ibex 35 has held up better than its peers and has already appreciated twice as much as the EuroStoxx 50 so far this year, with an increase of 11% for Spanish versus 5% for Pan-European.
This better performance of some of the large Spanish companies and the banking sector (except Unicaja, which is not part of the Stoxx 600) is also reflected, in the European ranking by capitalization, whose positions have been increasing since January 1In addition to banking entities (which, despite the drop in rates that began this year, continue to do well on the stock market), there are others heavyweights such as Inditex or Iberdrola which are improving their position within the benchmark index of the Old Continent which includes the 600 most representative companies in the territory.
The Galician company has gained three places compared to January and currently occupies 13th place in the Stoxx 600, that is, the highest position among Spanish companies in the continental reference. This rise in the ranking, which leaves it close to entering the European top 10, This is not surprising considering that a few weeks ago Inditex added another record to its annual list by becoming the first Spanish company with a market value of 150 billion euros. This Wednesday the results of the second quarter of Zara’s parent company will be known (in which, once again, double-digit growth is expected, reaching 1,492 million euros), which could give wings to its price.
The company chaired by Ignacio Galán started the year with a capitalization of around 75.4 billion euros. Today, its market value stands at 84.8 billion, which places it 28th in the European index, compared to 31st on January 1. In a year in which its revaluation stands at 12% (its most bullish year since 2020), it is currently accumulating the longest sequence of increases since last May (eight consecutive sessions). In September alone, Energy prices show gains of almost 4%and is among the most optimistic companies in the EuroStoxx 50 during the month.
Within the Ibex 35, Iberdrola remains the second company in terms of market value, behind Inditex, a year in which Banco Santander followed suit and snatched that second place in a matter of days. In fact, within the club of 35Iberdrola already contributes almost as much as Inditex in 2024with 22% of net points against the 24% added by textiles.
The banking sector is another of the main protagonists of the year, with an annual growth of more than 20% in the Ibex Banks, which group the six banking entities. Sabadell is the leader of the segment in terms of profitability, with an increase of more than 64%, which places it in 275th position in market value of the Stoxx 600, compared to the 388th position it occupied at the beginning of the year. This increase of 113 positions is the largest among Spanish companies in 2024.
The strong rise in the Sabadell stock market occurred after BBVA’s intention to acquire the company was known last May. Since then, the Catalan has advanced 1.4% in the trading room, compared to the 12% left in this interval by the entity led by Carlos Torres.
Thus, after Sabadell, Bankinter is the company that climbs to the highest position of the Old Continent indicator during the course (70, to be precise), and now occupies position 351 of the Stoxx 600, after having revalued around 37% in 2024 and reaching a market value of around 7,150 million euros. BBVA and Santander (which are also the new members of Eco10, the quality ideas index of elEconomista.es with the collaboration of 47 companies) gain 5 and 4 places respectively in this interval. These are the two entities that have revalued their securities the least during the year, although the rise in the stock market has also reached double digits, with 10% for BBVA and 14% for Santander.
By index
As has been the case for months, monetary policy decisions and macroeconomic data will continue to shape the future of markets. This week, specifically, All eyes are on Thursday’s ECB meeting, in which it is expected that a reduction of 25 basis points will be made in interest rates (which will be added to the reduction of 25 that the organization already made in June).
“The financial markets recovered very quickly from the correction at the beginning of August and some stock indices even reached new highs. The expected interest rate cuts are fueling investor optimism. As long as falling inflation allows the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to a neutral level, the situation would be very positive. If the monetary institution were forced to cut interest rates more drastically due to recession risks, high volatility and corrections would therefore still occur, and the risk of recession in the USA,” recalls Philipp E. Bärtschi, CIO of J. Safra Sarasin Sustainable AM.
At the moment, all the main European references are positive for the year, with the exception of the French CAC, which is losing around 1.8%, in a year that makes it more complicated than the rest of the indices due to the significant weight of the luxury segment in its composition, and the declines accumulated by some of the giants of this sector. After the Ibex, the main square of Milan is the one that gains the most, with 9.7%, followed by the German Dax, with 9.2%.
