Madrid, Feb 28, 2026, 08:21 CET — The market is shut.
The IBEX 35 slipped 0.73% Friday to 18,360.80, banks dragging the blue-chip index lower after a bout of renewed credit nerves. Still, Spain’s benchmark managed a roughly 1% weekly gain, having earlier hit a 52-week peak at 18,573.80. 1
Timing makes a difference. With Madrid dense with lenders, just one credit headline is enough to jolt the entire benchmark—even if the broader market stays steady.
Heading into Monday, traders are juggling month-end moves, a twitchy bank tape, plus a stretch of inflation numbers that could shift rate bets fast.
European equities wrapped up February with record highs, but banks lagged Friday. The STOXX 600 eked out a 0.1% gain, advancing 0.5% for the week. Bank shares in the region slipped 1.7%. Santander lost 2.8%, and IAG tumbled 7.4%—despite exceeding annual profit forecasts, according to Reuters. “…is being topped by worries regarding potential irregularities in the mortgage space,” Swissquote Bank senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya noted. 2
Market Financial Solutions, a property lender based in London, filed for administration after creditors flagged financial irregularities and pointed to a £930 million ($1.25 billion) shortfall in collateral, according to court documents reviewed by Reuters. The lender’s creditors, as reported by Reuters, include Barclays, Santander, Jefferies, Wells Fargo, and Atlas SP Partners, which is backed by Apollo and disclosed roughly £400 million of exposure. “We’re starting to see these types of things pop up,” remarked Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading. 3
Selling hit Madrid’s financials hard, with pressure spreading to some stocks reacting to fresh results. IAG sank 7.8%—the airline’s 2025 figures came in, but the last quarter disappointed. Grifols was down 3.9%. BBVA slid 1.7%, Sabadell 2.2%, according to Cinco Días. 4
Spain’s “flash estimate” for February CPI put annual consumer price growth at 2.3%, holding steady from January. Core inflation, which excludes unprocessed food and energy, ticked up slightly to 2.7%, according to the national statistics institute INE. 5
German EU-harmonised inflation dipped to 2% in February, undercutting expectations as energy prices came down and the euro gained ground, according to Reuters. “…lower energy prices and a strong euro,” noted Ulrich Kater, DekaBank’s chief economist. VP Bank’s Thomas Gitzel expects the ECB to “maintain its current course for the time being.” 6
French inflation came in hotter than analysts had anticipated this February, with the preliminary EU-harmonised rate hitting 1.1%, according to INSEE. The Reuters poll had penciled in just 0.7%. The culprit: energy prices didn’t drop off as much as forecast. 7
Spanish shares face their next big macro hurdle on March 3, with Eurostat set to release the euro zone’s flash inflation estimate for February. The annual rate across the bloc was 1.7% in January. 8
Looking ahead, traders are watching the ECB, which is set for its next monetary policy meeting on March 18-19. The press conference follows on the second day. 9
Inditex’s results land March 18, a key event for the IBEX as investors scrutinize consumer demand and the retailer’s pricing strength. 10
The risk for Madrid boils down to this: should the UK lender situation spill into a wider private-credit shakeout, bank stocks risk falling further, dragging the entire index lower. Flip it, and a stronger inflation number might drive yields up, hitting rate-sensitive stocks like utilities and real estate.
Spain’s main index kicks off the week lingering close to a 52-week peak, as banks and inflation steer sentiment once again. March 3 brings the euro zone’s inflation flash estimate, then all eyes shift to Inditex’s report on March 18, with the ECB’s policy call set for March 19.
