The Spanish stock index Ibex-35 pointed to a fifth consecutive downward session, in a scenario of generalized fear about economic activity around the world that on Monday was reinforced by macroeconomic indicators from China.

The decline in Chinese factory gate prices - the biggest in more than seven and a half years - and zero growth in consumer inflation surprised markets, which saw these figures as a sign of the challenges Beijing faces in revitalizing the world's second largest economy and avoiding a deflationary spiral.

This news added to the picture painted by Friday's U.S. employment indicator, which showed the growing damage of interest rate hikes on economic activity.

"Looking ahead, our positioning remains cautious, as we appreciate that valuations have been adjusting with rising equity prices and we may yet see further economic deterioration as aggressive interest rate hikes filter through to the real economy, undermining private consumption and business investment," said analysts at Renta 4.

"Despite the fact that, for the moment, the scenario is outperforming forecasts, the uncertainties are numerous, as shown by the increasingly forceful inversion of yield curves, so it still seems premature to claim victory," they added.

In this context, during the week there will be special interest in various macroeconomic data from the United States - especially Wednesday's CPI - as well as the start of the second quarter results season, with figures from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, State Street and PepsiCo.

Thus, at 07:01 GMT on Monday, the selective Spanish stock market index Ibex-35 fell 37.40 points, or 0.40%, to 9,211.40 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks fell 0.31%.

The fall of the last few sessions has caused the Ibex-35 to lose more than 400 points, giving up all the ground gained in the upward streak that took place between June 26 and July 3.

In terms of individual stocks, on Monday Acerinox's rise stood out against the tide, rising 1.8% after receiving an improved recommendation from Barclays.

In the banking sector, Santander lost 0.03%, BBVA fell 0.29%, Caixabank dropped 0.33%, Sabadell fell 0.23%, Bankinter gained 0.97%, and Unicaja Banco lost 0.31%.

Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefónica fell 0.17%, Inditex dropped 0.82%, Iberdrola lost 0.98%, Cellnex fell 0.25%, and the oil company Repsol rose 0.82%.

(Information by Tomás Cobos; edited by Flora Gómez)