The Spanish stock index Ibex-35 opened Tuesday with little variation, in a market lacking in incentives to take positions, awaiting a series of corporate results that could give a temporary direction to the market until news on the major central banks arrives.

In the run-up to the publication of the quarterly figures of large Ibex-35 companies such as Telefónica, Repsol and Iberdrola, the stock markets received with little enthusiasm the interest rate cut applied in China to help the real estate sector.

The news from Beijing caught the markets off guard, as they are still assimilating the drastic reduction in the possibility of a rapid reduction in the cost of debt following two recent data releases that showed a rebound in inflation in the United States.

LSEG's IRPR tool shows that interest rate futures now forecast only an 8.5% chance of a cut in March, and a 38.7% chance in May, when just a month ago the vast majority of the market was taking such cuts for granted.

Despite this, Bankinter analysts continue to see a positive backdrop for equities in the coming months.

"We recall that we have insisted since the end of 2023 that inflation in the world will pick up or resist continuing to recede throughout the first half of 2024, as is indeed happening. And that this will not become any serious obstacle to stock market advances, as we have been seeing in recent weeks, even though bond IRRs (rates of return) continue to rise, albeit slowly and discreetly."

Elsewhere, investors continue to monitor the price of crude oil, which remains at three-week highs as Yemeni Houthi attacks on shipping lanes in the Red Sea and the Mandeb Strait continue, while awaiting the minutes of the latest US Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting, due on Wednesday.

The day will be marked by the resumption of trading on Wall Street after Monday's holiday.

In the Spanish market, at 08:15 GMT on Tuesday, the selective stock market index Ibex-35 fell 9.10 points, or 0.09%, to 9,935.70 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks fell 0.10%.

In the banking sector, Santander rose 0.05%, BBVA fell 0.62%, Caixabank advanced 0.07%, Sabadell fell 0.55%, Bankinter gained 0.04%, and Unicaja Banco lost 0.47%. Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefónica gained 0.52%, Inditex fell 0.20%, Iberdrola dropped 0.14%, Cellnex fell 0.42%, and the oil company Repsol lost 0.43%.

Meliá stood out, which gained 9.15% after learning of an agreement with a Santander investment vehicle that will take a 38% stake in a subsidiary of the hotel company.

Enagás was also positive, rising 1.62% after exceeding its 2023 earnings targets and presenting its forecasts for 2024, while the plasma derivatives group Grifols fell 2.19% after the publication of a new negative report on the company by the bearish fund Gotham.

(Information by Tomás Cobos; edited by Javi West Larrañaga)