The Spanish stock market index Ibex-35 extended on Friday the positive trend of the previous day, above the 10,300-point barrier, a level it has not visited for six years, thanks to positive messages about interest rate cuts that encouraged the markets.

On Thursday, the heads of the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank reinforced the prospect of rate cuts once macroeconomic readings confirm price moderation, following years of persistent inflation that has pushed interest rates around the world to record highs.

On Thursday, the ECB left key rates unchanged at 4.0%, in line with expectations, but revised down its inflation and growth forecast, which investors interpreted as a sign of possible monetary easing.

Subsequently, its president, Christine Lagarde, reiterated the message of waiting until the bank considers it is ready to lower them, but stressed that they are making good progress in the fight against inflation. Markets are now betting on a first European rate cut in June.

"The ECB meeting held few surprises (...) but the downgrade of inflation forecasts (which had already been leaked to the press) along with the subsequent appearance helped confirm that in June the ECB would make its first rate cut, although Lagarde insisted that a restrictive monetary policy will be maintained as long as necessary," wrote analysts at Banco Sabadell.

In the US, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell also threw another gift to the markets by stating that the central bank was not far from being certain that inflation is coming on track and to begin cuts in borrowing costs. Interest rate futures reflected this message by betting on a start of cuts in June.

However, the financial markets are now focusing their attention on the US job creation data, a key data for a Fed that has highlighted the importance of macroeconomic readings to make a move and that could confirm or derail the current bets. Markets are expecting a moderation in the reading to be released on Friday.

At 08:18 GMT on Friday, Spain's selective Ibex-35 stock market index was up 10.50 points, or 0.10%, to 10,330.10 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks was up 0.01%.

On a weekly basis, the Spanish index was on track for a rise of 2.68%, its best weekly gain since mid-November 2023.

In the banking sector, Santander rose 0.64%, BBVA gained 0.73%, Caixabank advanced 0.68%, Sabadell gained 0.96%, Bankinter gained 4.42%, and Unicaja Banco rose 1.16%.

Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefónica fell 0.03%, Inditex dropped 1.29%, Iberdrola lost 0.50%, Cellnex fell 0.17%, and the oil company Repsol rose 1.07%.

The pharmaceutical company Grifols stood out, which jumped 12.98% after publishing its consolidated annual accounts for fiscal year 2023, which include an unqualified opinion from its auditor KPMG, after the pressure received by the reports of the bearish fund Gotham City.

(Information by José Muñoz; edited in Spanish by Tomás Cobos)