The Ibex-35 opened Wednesday with a slight rebound that allowed it to surpass the 10,400 point mark, a level it has not known for more than six years, although the rebound seemed to stall in the absence of new factors that would justify the extension of the rally.

In the month of March, the Spanish stock market index accumulated an increase of 3.88%, as hopes of interest rate cuts on both sides of the Atlantic were rekindled.

However, the horizon of cheaper loans was clouded on Tuesday by US price figures that reminded investors of the difficulties the Federal Reserve (Fed) is facing in the final stretch to claim victory over inflation.

Gasoline and housing prices pushed February's consumer price index up 3.2% from a year earlier, an acceleration from January's 3.1% increase. Core inflation--which excludes energy and food prices--slowed less than economists projected and, on a quarterly and six-month basis, actually gained ground.

These data, according to Diego Morín, an analyst at IG, "make it clear that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will have to 'think about' whether to lower rates in June, although we all know that the US elections 'dictate' the path".

Still, interest rate futures continue to point to a Fed rate cut on June 12, although the odds have now dropped to just under 70%, according to LSEG's IRPR tool.

No major macroeconomic news is expected during the current session, so financial markets may wait until Thursday, when US retail sales and producer prices for February will be released, before taking further positions.

Against this backdrop, at 08:15 GMT on Wednesday, the selective Spanish stock market index Ibex-35 was up 85.80 points, or 0.83%, to 10,474.70 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks was up 0.07%.

In the banking sector, Santander lost 0.11%, BBVA gained 0.34%, Caixabank advanced 0.29%, Sabadell gained 0.60%, Bankinter gained 0.03%, and Unicaja Banco rose 0.40%.

Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefónica gained 0.65%, Inditex advanced 3.36%, Iberdrola gained 1.47%, Cellnex gained 0.35%, and the oil company Repsol rose 0.14%.

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