Ibex 35 closes above 20,000 points for the first time, lifted by bank earnings and falling oil
The Madrid benchmark closed at 20,023.6 points on Tuesday, a 0.21% daily gain, as strong first-half results from the country's largest banks and a drop in crude prices outweighed geopolitical uncertainty.
The milestone session
The Ibex 35 closed at 20,023.6 points on Tuesday, rising 0.21% on the day and breaching the 20,000-point threshold for the first time in the index's history. The benchmark had already touched the level in early trading, reaching 20,036 points minutes after the open, before dipping briefly below 19,900 and recovering into the close. Monday's session had ended at a then-record 19,982.6 points, a 1.01% advance, setting the stage for Tuesday's push.
The index has gained about 15% year-to-date and 38% over the past 12 months, outpacing the pan-European EuroStoxx 50, which is up 22% this year. Other European markets also closed higher: Milan rose 1.26%, Frankfurt 0.85%, Paris 0.52%, and London 0.30%.
What drove the rally
Two forces converged. First, Spain's five largest banks (Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Sabadell, and Bankinter) reported combined first-half profits of 19,803 million euros, a record that reinforced confidence in a financial sector still benefiting from post-2008 consolidation and prudent risk management. Second, Brent crude fell 5.01% to $79.64 a barrel at the European close, while West Texas Intermediate dropped 5.39% to $76, after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed confidence that an agreement with Iran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.
We are in talks with Iran. There is a possibility that we reach a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait and move towards a more normalised posture in this conflict.
President Donald Trump had suggested on Monday that the strait could be open as soon as Tuesday, though Iranian diplomatic sources denied that negotiations were underway and warned that the current talks represented a "last chance" for a deal.
Winners and losers on the day
ArcelorMittal led gains, rising 4.24%, buoyed by optimism around a steel-industry recovery and the effect of EU carbon border adjustments and steel tariffs that took effect in July. Amadeus added 2.13%, Sacyr 1.90%, Indra 1.74%, Unicaja 1.48%, and Grifols 1.39%. Puig Brands also advanced after reporting 260 million euros in profit, excluding extraordinary items.
The sharpest decline hit Acciona, which fell 7% after the Entrecanales Franco family, through the Dutch vehicle Tussen de Grachten BV, placed a 3% stake, some 1.65 million shares, for about 359 million euros in an accelerated bookbuild, cutting its holding from 29.02% to 26%. The sale, executed at a discount of 5.7% to Monday's close, dragged down Acciona Energía (down 2.72%) and Naturgy (down 1.25%). Endesa fell 1.45%, Repsol 1.15%, and Enagás 0.94%.
The US session and tech earnings
Wall Street posted clear gains, with the Nasdaq 100 up more than 2% and the S&P 500 up over 1%. Palantir surged 25% after beating analyst forecasts and raising its full-year guidance, citing strong traction in both public and private sector business. SpaceX reported its first quarterly results since its Wall Street debut, with its shares having fallen sharply in recent weeks and analysts holding back their optimism ahead of the figures.
What analysts see ahead
Strategists consulted by El Periódico see further upside for the Ibex 35, but identify three medium-term risks: the trajectory of the Iran conflict, US monetary policy, and the direction of Wall Street. Víctor Alvargonzález, founder of Nextep Finance, noted that European indices remain highly conditioned by the war's outcome, with the oil price acting as a risk thermometer. A sustained rise in crude would hurt European competitiveness, feed inflation, and could force additional rate hikes from the European Central Bank.
The evolution of oil acts as a risk thermometer for the market.
Analysts at XTB pointed out that the banking sector, while still the engine of recent gains, is becoming a demanding benchmark: the market now expects continued profit delivery rather than one-off records. On the fixed-income side, the yield on the Spanish 10-year sovereign bond stood at 3.533%, down from Monday's 3.591%, pushing the risk premium versus German debt to 42.7 basis points. The euro firmed 0.10% against the dollar to $1.1521.
- Ibex 35 falls to 5,900 points during the worst of the financial crisis.
- Index drops to 5,800 points during the COVID-19 market shock.
- Ibex 35 reaches 17,000 points for the first time.
- Index climbs to 18,000 points.
- Ibex 35 surpasses 19,000 points.
- Index closes at 20,023.6 points, breaching 20,000 for the first time.
The broader context
The 20,000-point close marks a dramatic recovery from the 5,900 points touched during the 2012 financial crisis and the 5,800 points during the pandemic shock six years ago. The index first reached 17,000 points in December 2025, 18,000 in February 2026, and 19,000 in June 2026. The rally has been sustained by a healthier, better-capitalized banking sector and expectations that large-scale AI investments will translate into productivity gains for the companies deploying them, provided the geopolitical landscape does not unravel into a prolonged oil-price shock.
