The Spanish economy has shown modest growth in productivity following the pandemic, with total factor productivity (TFP) rising by 2.71% in 2022 and 1.05% in 2023. However, these figures remain below the European Union average, signaling a need for further improvements in efficiency among underperforming companies to boost overall productivity by 4.9%. The labor market requires adaptation in educational systems to align more closely with market demands, highlighting the ongoing need for structural reforms. Meanwhile, the Spanish stock market is witnessing positive momentum, as evidenced by the Ibex 35 climbing by 0.63%, reflecting a broader positive trend in European markets like Paris and Milan. Despite these gains, the economy faces significant challenges, including housing crises and the critical need for sustainable practices, such as investment in renewable energy projects to support decarbonization efforts and conscious consumerism to reduce carbon emissions.
The Brent opened with virtually no change, at a price of 81.0 dollars per barrel. The gold opened the session with virtually no change, at a price of 2683.5 dollars per ounce. Now, regarding equity, the EURO STOXX 50 started the session with virtually no change, at 4997.98 points. The DAX 30 started the session with virtually no change, in 20252.8 points, the FTSE 100 started the session with virtually no change, at 8231.98 points, and the EURONEXT 100 started the session with virtually no change, at 1482.02 points.
Close to market opening, the following macroeconomic indicators for Europe were published: the Industrial production (YoY) of Italy in November (-1.5%). Throughout the day the following indicators will be published: the ZEW economic sentiment of Germany in January.
The IBEX opened with virtually no change, at 11746.0 points. The best performers at the beginning of the day have been MERLIN PROPERTIES (+2.725 %), BANCO SANTANDER (+2.18 %) and INMOBILIARIA COLONIAL with a change of (+1.982 %) on its values respectively. The worst performers at the beginning of the day have been SACYR (-2.452 %), MELIÁ HOTELS (-2.418 %) and REPSOL with a change of (-1.218 %) on its values respectively.