The specter of inflation returned to the markets after the higher-than-expected figure in the United States, which led the Spanish Ibex-35 index to open cautiously awaiting statements from the president of the European Central Bank.

Despite a moderation in core inflation, the overall US consumer price indicator showed a higher than expected trend on Thursday, due to higher rents and gasoline, which raised the odds of a Fed rate hike in December (40% vs. 28% prior to the data) to quell inflationary pressures.

The brokerage Renta 4 indicated that the market reacted with rising fixed income yields, as "doubts about the capacity for significant further declines in inflation increased, as the downward drag from September headline CPI added to the worse producer price data and higher inflation expectations from the NY Fed released in previous days".

China also released its consumer price data, which showed stagnation versus last year, pressuring policymakers to offer more supportive measures to meet their growth target.

Meanwhile, the corporate earnings season continues in the US, with several large US banks releasing their results on Friday.

On the macroeconomic front, Friday will bring Eurozone industrial production and the US University of Michigan consumer confidence report.

Thus, at 07:08 GMT on Friday, the selective Spanish stock market index Ibex-35 fell 7.10 points, or 0.08%, to 9,328.90 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks fell 0.22%.

In weekly terms, the Ibex-35 maintained a positive trend and was on track for a gain of 1.03%.

In the banking sector, Santander lost 0.33%, BBVA fell 0.33%, Caixabank advanced 0.63%, Sabadell gained 1.16%, Bankinter gained 0.73%, and Unicaja Banco lost 0.38%.

Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefónica gained 0.47%, Inditex fell 0.14%, Iberdrola dropped 0.38%, Cellnex fell 0.37%, and the oil company Repsol rose 1.27%.

(Information by José Muñoz; edited by Tomás Cobos)