The Ibex 35 gained 0.42% on Friday after its worst week since April. Higher bond yields and weaker US jobs data kept monetary policy at the center of market concerns.
Friday's close came at 19,085.3 points. The Ibex 35 had lost 3.12% across the week, its worst result since April. A 0.42% rise on Friday stopped a run of daily losses. The rebound added about 80 points. It did not repair the week's damage.
Bond markets drove much of the pressure. Yields rose across markets as inflation linked to the war with Iran strengthened expectations of tighter monetary policy. Debt issued to fund the race for artificial intelligence also increased competition for available capital.
Before the US employment report, analysts expected roughly 84,000–90,000 new jobs and an unemployment rate of about 4.1%. The eventual result was therefore a significantly weaker-than-expected signal for markets.
Manuel Pinto of XTB said higher bond yields had changed the market landscape within only a few weeks. He linked the pressure to higher inflation expectations and stronger demand for financing.
Friday was a pause.
ACS led the advance with a 3.20% rise. Sacyr gained 2.52%, while Merlin climbed 2.45%. Cellnex added 2.07%. Ferrovial rose 2.06%, and Aena advanced 1.91%.
The US labour market showed a mixed picture. Initial unemployment claims remained near 197,000, suggesting no sharp acceleration in layoffs even as hiring weakened. Separately, ADP reported 90,000 private-sector jobs added in September, reinforcing the picture of cooling rather than an outright collapse.
Repsol moved the other way and fell 2.62%. Unicaja lost 1.88%. Puig dropped 0.90%, Acciona Energía declined 0.72%, and Grifols slipped 0.67%. Gains in infrastructure and property-related shares contrasted with losses in several other major names.
Other European markets also finished higher. Fráncfort gained 1.17%. París rose 0.79%, Milán added 0.49%, and Londres advanced 0.32%. The regional gains offered some support. They did not change the Ibex 35's weekly result.
US data added to the caution. The economy created 29,000 jobs in September, down sharply from the 133,000 increase recorded in August, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unemployment reached 4.2%, above the roughly 4.1% rate analysts had expected. Investors were already weighing whether inflation could force a tougher monetary response.
Markets read the weak report as a reason to be more careful about economic growth. Treasury yields fell from recent highs after the release. The jobs data also raised fresh questions about how monetary policy could balance a cooling labour market with persistent inflation risks.
Energy prices fell during the European session. Brent dropped 0.91% to 101.38 dollars a barrel. West Texas Intermediate stood at 90.89 dollars after falling 2.16%. The euro gained 0.13% against the dollar and traded at 1.1259 dollars.
Spanish debt offered only limited relief by the close. The ten-year sovereign yield fell to 4.087% from 4.135% on Thursday. The risk premium over the German bond stood at 62.5 basis points. Earlier in the week, the ten-year Spanish yield had reached about 4.19%.
German yields also rose to levels not seen since 2009. US yields approached highs associated with 2002, according to European market reviews. Borrowing costs explained why the pressure reached both bonds and equities.
The index had already come under heavy pressure at the start of October. Market summaries for October 1 reported an intraday fall of roughly 2.17% and a close near 19,005 points. Those reports linked the move to renewed highs in the debt market and higher financing costs.
Next week's calendar includes eurozone composite PMI figures and retail sales across the bloc. It also includes minutes from the latest monetary policy meetings of the Federal Reserve of the United States and the European Central Bank. The releases will show whether Friday's recovery can continue or whether the week's pressure returns.
The message is clear. Friday's gain was positive but too small to repair the weekly loss. The Ibex 35 remains exposed to bond yields even when individual shares rise sharply.
Inflation expectations tied to the war with Iran and financing needs linked to artificial intelligence are competing for investors' attention. The weaker US employment figure adds uncertainty rather than removing it. Falling Spanish bond yields eased the pressure on Friday. They did not reverse the broader retreat.
For now, the market is being driven less by one rebound than by the cost of money and the competition for capital.
