Ibex 35 climbs past 20,200 points as Spanish stocks hit historic highs

The Spanish Ibex 35 index broke the 20,000‑point barrier in early August and continued to rise, closing the week at 20,176‑20,220 points, a gain of about 2 % and the highest level on record. The rally was led by strong earnings from major banks such as Banco Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank and Sabadell, as well as infrastructure and technology firms like Indra and Cellnex. Analysts noted that oil price movements created divergent impacts: Repsol surged more than 60 % on higher crude prices, while airline group IAG was pressured by rising fuel costs but still posted an 8 % annual gain. Indra’s subsidiary Hispasat secured a €1.6 billion contract to build the EU IRIS2 satellite system, adding further upside. Despite the overall advance, some stocks such as Telefónica and Acciona Energy fell, and the market remained sensitive to U.S. employment data and Middle‑East geopolitical tensions.