Spain's IBEX 35 stock index returned to positive territory on Wednesday after the previous day's setback, buoyed by comments from the chairman of the U.S. central bank that revived hopes of cuts in borrowing costs.

According to Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell, the United States has returned to the "path of disinflation", which the markets interpreted as a sign that interest rate cuts are not far off.

However, Powell warned that more data is still needed before monetary easing is undertaken, in order to verify that the recent weaker inflation readings give an accurate picture of the economy.

More clues in this regard will come on Wednesday, as the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee releases the minutes of its June 11-12, 2024 meeting after the close of European markets (at 1800 GMT).

The securities house Renta 4 recalls that this meeting ended with rates remaining in the 5.25%-5.50% range and that the Fed updated its members' interest rate projections, which went from the 3 cuts expected for 2024 to only 1 (versus a market discounting 2), "although (the forecast table) is very open (7 expect 1 cut, 8 expect 2 and 4 expect none)".

"In any case, what it really means is a temporary delay in the downgrade, since the Fed raised from 3 to 4 the rate cuts expected for 2025", these analysts add.

The day will also see the release of numerous important macroeconomic indicators, such as the PMI services surveys on both sides of the Atlantic and, in the United States, industrial orders and various labor market data: the Challenger report on layoffs, weekly unemployment data and the ADP private sector job creation indicator.

The latter figures will serve as a preview for the full June labor report to be released on Friday, which is of particular relevance for the Fed when deciding its monetary policy.

In any case, investors are still watching the second round of the French legislative elections to be held on Sunday, amid fears that the far-right could gain power and jeopardize the country's public finances with an increase in spending.

On the other hand, Renta 4 highlights that Wall Street will close early (at 13:00 New York time) due to the Independence Day holiday on Thursday.

In the Spanish market, at 07:05 GMT on Wednesday, the selective Spanish stock market IBEX 35 was up 47.30 points, or 0.43%, to 10,960.10 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks was up 0.41%.

In the banking sector, Santander rose 0.68%, BBVA gained 0.30%, Caixabank advanced 0.08%, Sabadell fell 0.19%, Bankinter gained 0.08%, and Unicaja Banco rose 0.71%.

Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefónica gained 0.25%, Inditex advanced 0.46%, Iberdrola gained 0.53%, Cellnex fell 0.10%, and the oil company Repsol lost 0.07%.

Grifols stood out, with a rise of more than 2% after learning of an agreement with Scranton Enterprises - an entity linked to the family that controls the plasma derivatives group - to refinance 377 million euros of debt.

(Information by Tomás Cobos; edited by Javi West Larrañaga)