29 May - The main Spanish stock index extended gains on Monday, in a context of optimism about a possible agreement on the US debt ceiling, the day after regional and local elections in Spain that suggest a change of national government at the end of the year.

Most global markets enthusiastically welcomed the announcement of an agreement between the US president and the Republican leader of the House of Representatives to put the country's debt ceiling on hold, which, in the absence of parliamentary approval, will avoid an imminent default situation with catastrophic effects on the world economy.

However, Diego Morín, from IG, warns that "we could have some nervousness in the market as this vote (of the agreement in the US Parliament) takes place, since we must take into account the differences between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and Congress, without forgetting the (presidential) elections of 2024, which will have a bearing on this approval".

On a day without important macroeconomic data, the unblocking of a situation that had kept the markets tense during the last sessions will be the main stock market catalyst, the day after the conservative Popular Party reinforced its ambition to reach the Spanish presidency after winning strongly in a good part of its regions and municipalities.

Also on the electoral front, the markets will analyze the results of Sunday's presidential elections in Turkey, in which President Tayyip Erdogan won the renewal of his mandate after 20 years in power.

At 09:05 Monday, the Spanish selective stock market index Ibex-35 was up 74.20 points, or 0.81%, to 9,265.30 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks was up 0.23%.

In the banking sector, Santander rose 1.09%, BBVA gained 0.68%, Caixabank advanced 1.15%, Sabadell gained 0.99%, Unicaja Banco rose 1.83%, and Bankinter gained 2.74%.

Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefónica gained 1.50%, Inditex advanced 0.58%, Iberdrola gained 0.61%, Cellnex gained 0.59% and the oil company Repsol rose 0.88%.

(Information by Darío Fernández; edited by José Muñoz)