23 May - After four sessions on the rise, the main Spanish selective Ibex 35 fell back on Tuesday due to signs of a slowdown in the eurozone economy and the stalemate in the negotiations on the debt ceiling in the United States.

The advance reading of the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) in the euro zone, considered a good thermometer of the general economy, made clear the sectoral gulf between manufacturing in recession and services in good health.

"The services boom is a relief for growth, but a headache for inflation as price pressures rose further," Ben Laidler, global markets strategist at eToro, warned in a note.

And in the wake of such mixed data, central banks are increasingly cautious about easing monetary policy, keeping investors on edge and curbing their appetite for risk, already tested by the lack of agreement in Washington on raising the debt ceiling.

"Markets are now in a justifiable timeout after surviving the first quarter results and the US bank scare. And in the face of the debt ceiling showdown, the Fed's possible interest rate pivot and this year's double-digit earnings windfall," added Laidler.

Spain's selective Ibex-35 stock market closed down 38.00 points on Tuesday, down 0.41%, to 9,267.00 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks lost 0.60%.

In the banking sector, Santander lost 0.14%, BBVA fell 0.18%, Caixabank advanced 0.89%, Sabadell gained 0.41%, Bankinter gained 1.51%, and Unicaja Banco rose 0.21%.

Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefónica gained 1.11%, Inditex fell 1.83%, Iberdrola gained 0.22%, Cellnex fell 0.60%, and the oil company Repsol lost 0.19%.

Among the other electricity companies, Naturgy fell 1.19%, while Endesa advanced 0.25%.

(Information by Matteo Allievi; edited by Benjamín Mejías Valencia)