16 May - The Spanish stock index Ibex-35 closed Tuesday a second straight session in the red, in a context of caution in the markets in the face of the uncertain future of the debt ceiling in the United States and the possibility of further interest rate hikes in the eurozone, against the backdrop of mixed economic data.

Having cashed in after the corporate earnings season, investors seem to have regained their restraint in the face of the uncertain economic outlook for the eurozone. In this regard, a Reuters poll of economists showed the prospect of two more 25 basis point hikes in European Central Bank interest rates, raising fears of further credit tightening that threatens to cause a recession.

Tuesday's 0.1% advance in the region's GDP in the first quarter was confirmed, reiterating the preliminary reading to the relief of markets, but German investor confidence added cause for concern as it fell more than expected in May.

Added to this is the increasingly agonizing negotiation to expand the US federal government's borrowing capacity, where the strength of the underlying retail sales reading in April gave some respite to those fearing an economic recession.

As a result, Spain's Ibex-35 closed down 10.10 points on Tuesday, or 0.11%, to 9,191.40 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks lost 0.40%.

In the banking sector, Santander lost 0.27%, BBVA retreated 0.35%, Caixabank gave up 0.89%, Sabadell gained 0.11%, Bankinter dropped 0.81% and Unicaja Banco lost 0.38%.

Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefónica gained 0.92%, Inditex gave up 1.06%, Iberdrola gained 0.04%, Cellnex gained 0.45%, and the oil company Repsol lost 0.56%.

(Information by Darío Fernández)