The Spanish stock market index Ibex-35 paused at the opening on Friday, clinging to the support level of 9,900 points, on a day that could be one of transition as it awaits new references that will decide the direction of equities.

Investors monitored the situation in the Middle East, after the beginning of a precarious truce between Israel and Hamas, which for the time being averts fears of an extension of the conflict, and will analyze the scarce macroeconomic news.

In Germany, the contraction of the GDP in the third quarter was confirmed and at 0900 GMT the IFO business survey will be released, which according to analysts at the Renta 4 brokerage firm could show a "slight improvement, (...) driven by the expectations component, while the current situation will continue to be very depressed".

Later on, the US PMI business surveys for November will be released, which according to a Reuters poll could show slight declines in both services and manufacturing.

The day, in any case, could again see limited volume as Wall Street, which was closed the day before for the Thanksgiving holiday, is only half-session.

For the time being, Wall Street was pointing to an upward opening, as the S&P index e-mini was up 1.25 points and Dow Jones futures were up 37.00 points, although Nasdaq futures were down 10.50 points.

Renta 4 analysts also point out that this Friday is "Black Friday", the start of the Christmas shopping season and therefore "a good thermometer to determine the tone of American consumption, which is responsible for a large part of GDP growth (2/3 of GDP)".

In this context, at 0813 GMT on Friday, the selective Spanish stock market index Ibex-35, which has risen almost 700 points since November 7, was up 8.00 points, or 0.08%, to 9,913.50 points. The index was on track to close the week with a rise of 1.62%.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks declined by 0.08%.

In the banking sector, Santander rose 0.16%, BBVA gained 0.47%, Caixabank advanced 0.14%, Sabadell gained 0.99%, Bankinter gained 1.21%, and Unicaja Banco rose 0.58%.

Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefónica fell 0.18%, Inditex advanced 0.03%, Iberdrola gained 0.13%, Cellnex fell 0.59%, and the oil company Repsol rose 0.07%.

Outside the Ibex, the automotive components company Gestamp rose by 3.3% after receiving an improvement in its recommendation from Barclays analysts.

(Information by Tomás Cobos; edited by Benjamín Mejías Valencia)