The Spanish stock index Ibex-35 finally closed higher on Wednesday, after flirting during the day with a fifth session in the negative as nervousness persists around First Republic Bank following notable deposit outflows, which has raised volatility levels.

In a busy week of results for European companies, analysts have again slightly cut their earnings growth estimates for the region's largest companies.

According to Refinitiv I/B/E/S data, earnings for STOXX 600 companies are now down 2.6%, compared with the 2.5% decline forecast last week.

However, on the question of whether eurozone stocks have upside, economist Patrick Artus offered a note of optimism when he said from Natixis in Paris:

"For the time being, the positive factors seem to outweigh the negative ones, and eurozone stock indexes are expected to continue to rise in 2023."

Against this backdrop, the selective Spanish stock market index Ibex-35 closed up 3.40 points on Wednesday, up 0.04%, to 9,293.70 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks lost 0.94%.

In the banking sector, Santander lost 1.08%, BBVA gained 0.51%, Caixabank gave up 1.20%, Bankinter gained 0.11% and Unicaja Banco rose 0.85%.

Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefónica gained 2.42%, Inditex advanced 0.45%, Iberdrola gained 0.08%, Cellnex gained 0.58%, and the oil company Repsol rose 0.96%.

(Reporting by Flora Gómez; additional information by Danilo Masoni)