The IBEX 35 opened Friday with a slight correction after a week of mostly upward trend that could allow the Spanish stock index to settle back above 11,100 points and prepare the assault to new heights.

The main attraction of the day is the PMI business surveys, which could provide clues on the macroeconomic outlook and, consequently, on the direction of interest rates on both sides of the Atlantic.

"The PMI indices could continue to show the resilience of the US cycle (slight deterioration expected in services, although at levels of clear expansion, and stability in manufacturing) and the gradual improvement of economic activity in the Eurozone in both manufacturing and services," said the Renta 4 brokerage firm.

These analysts highlighted the positive result of the first French debt auction since the call for early elections, which could dispel for now the fear of tensions in the debt markets due to the possible rise to power of the ultra-right, in a context of attention to the state of the French public coffers.

Otherwise, the main news on the international financial front was the rate cut in Switzerland and signals from the Bank of England that it could join the monetary easing in August, in contrast to the caution of the US Federal Reserve.

In any case, the predominant note in the equity markets is likely to be caution, in a scenario of uncertainty regarding the Israeli offensive in Gaza and the fear of an open war between Tel Aviv and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

Against this backdrop, at 0705 GMT on Friday, the selective Spanish stock market index IBEX 35 fell by 18.80 points, or 0.17%, to 11,141.70 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks fell by 0.27%.

For the week as a whole, the IBEX 35 shows a rise of 1.36%, while in the time elapsed from 2024 to date, the IBEX 35 accumulates a rise of 10.29%, with the end of the first half of the year just a few days away.

In the banking sector, Santander lost 0.30%, BBVA fell 0.36%, Caixabank dropped 0.39%, Sabadell fell 0.34%, Bankinter lost 0.61% and Unicaja Banco lost 0.47%.

Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefónica gained 0.02%, Inditex fell 0.36%, Iberdrola gained 0.45%, Cellnex fell 0.22%, and the oil company Repsol rose 0.17%.

(Information by Tomás Cobos; edited by Benjamín Mejías Valencia)