The Spanish stock market, IBEX-35, rises again after reaching its lowest point since 2012 in March last year. However, it is not at its pre-pandemic level. Only the most optimistic forecast sees this happening in 2021.
So far, Spain’s 35 listed companies have together suffered a loss of 19.4% compared to early 2020. However, this loss is not evenly distributed; ten companies are now listed higher than before the pandemic. The other 25 remain below that level.
Biggest loss for IAG
Of the Ibex-35 companies, International Airlines Group (IAG) suffered the largest loss (-63.7%). The advent of the corona vaccine has not yet been able to compensate for the losses of the large companies in the tourism sector. Nevertheless, thanks to the merger of Iberia and British Airlines, experts see no serious threat to the survival of IAG. Analysts and investors are positive about the flexible management of IAG, which has managed to avoid bailouts through recapitalisation.
Difficult recovery for the banking sector
After IAG, the biggest loss is for the Spanish bank Sabadell. The bank has suffered a 53.1% drop since February last year and a failed merger attempt with BBVA. However, with a profit of €2million, Sabadell did not end up in the red.
The big question now is what the strategic plan of the newly appointed management will look like. Of the Spanish banks, only Bankia has managed to return to pre-corona pandemic levels with an increase of 4.78% following a successful merger with CaixaBank.
IBEX-35 decline across almost all sectors
The list of companies that saw the value of their shares decline by more than 30%, represents almost all sectors. They include real estate company Merlin (-38.4%), Telefónica (-36.4%), pharmaceutical Grifols and infrastructure multinational Ferrovial (both -31.9%) and technology company Indra (-30.4%).
Newcomers are doing well
The stars on the Ibex-35 are the energy multinational Solaria and the pharmaceutical company PharmaMar, which recently joined the stock exchange. Thanks to the increased interest in renewable energy and the fight against the coronavirus, the growth of these companies increased by 115% and 104% respectively in the past 12 months. Only Siemens Gamesa achieved an even better result with an increase of 121% in the past twelve months.
