Spain's Ibex 35 Hits Record High, Nears 20,000 Points

Spain's main stock index, the Ibex 35, closed at a new all-time high on Friday, rising 0.92% to end above 19,800 points. The index, which tracks the 35 largest publicly traded companies in Spain, reached 19,845 points, even with Wall Street closed for the July 4 holiday. The rally, driven by strong momentum in recent days, puts the index within striking distance of the 20,000-point mark—a milestone that would set another historic record. For the week, the Ibex 35 gained 2.2%, bringing its total increase since the start of the year to 14.7%. Steel companies led the gains. ArcelorMittal jumped 6.05%, and Acerinox rose 3.23%, both boosted by a new European Union tariff of 50% on steel imports from outside the bloc. Only nine of the 35 companies in the index ended the day in negative territory. Spain's most valuable company by market capitalization is Banco Santander, worth over 182 billion euros. It leads Inditex (over 178 billion euros) and Iberdrola (over 147 billion euros).