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IBEX 35

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Jemma Grist

Written By

Jemma Grist

Jemma is a writer, editor and fact-checker focused on retail trading and investing. Jemma brings a unique perspective to the forex, stock, and cryptocurrency markets and works across several investment websites as a researcher and broker analyst.

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Edited By

James Barra

Edited By

James Barra

James is an investment writer with a background in financial services. He has worked as a management consultant, where he delivered large-scale operational transformational programmes at some of Europe's biggest banks. James authors, edits and fact-checks content for a series of investing websites.

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Fact Checked By

William Berg

Fact Checked By

William Berg

William contributes to several investment websites, leveraging his experience as a consultant for IPOs in the Nordic market and background providing localization for forex trading software. William has worked as a writer and fact-checker for a long row of financial publications.

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Updated

Jun 24, 2024

IBEX 35 brokers offer access to Spain’s most widely traded stock index which features several notable European companies. This day trading and brokerage guide covers all you need to know when investing in the IBEX 35 online, such as the different instruments available, average dividends and the list of companies that make up the index. Read on to learn about the evolution of the index, price history and strategies for the IBEX 35. We also list the top brokers with access to the IBEX 35 in 2024 and explain how to choose between trading platforms.

How To Compare IBEX 35 Brokers

Consider the following factors when choosing between platforms and brokers that support IBEX 35 trading:

Instruments

As one of Europe’s most prominent regional indices, IBEX 35 brokers offer a range of instruments and vehicles.

Many financial services providers operate mutual funds that track the performance of the IBEX.

Derivative IBEX 35 tracker ETFs are also available, with inverse and leveraged options, offering trades up to 3x long and 2x short leverage on the price movements of the index.

Traders can also pick single stocks from the IBEX 35 to create their own portfolios. This may be useful for dividend investors that wish to exclude the low and zero-dividend-paying companies in the index. Note, not all brokers support IBEX 35 trading on individual stocks.

Over-the-counter products such as CFDs, spread bets and binary options also allow investors to speculate on the price movements of the IBEX 35. In addition, options and futures contracts are available from the MEFF in Spain.

Platforms

The best IBEX 35 brokers will offer industry-recognized trading platforms such as MetaTrader 5. Proprietary software and bespoke tools are also positives as brokers may provide incentives for use such as commission reductions.

Historical data, moving averages and correlation with other global indices would be good to see too. You may also want to utilize the services of brokers that offer demo profiles, which can be good to understand how trading on the IBEX 35 will fit within your wider portfolio.

Fees

Costs can make a big difference when it comes to having a successful trading career. Look out for IBEX 35 brokers with commission-free trading or tight spreads. For example, trading the Spanish stock exchange on Admiral Markets is commission-free, with a minimum deposit requirement of 100 EUR.

Other fees may include account management charges, inactivity costs or overnight rollover fees so bear this in mind when working on your profit and loss projections.

Deposits & Withdrawals

Look out for IBEX 35 brokers that work seamlessly with local deposit and withdrawal solutions. If you are a Spanish citizen, IBEX 35 brokerages and platforms that offer credit/debit cards and SEPA wire transfers may be the most appealing so you can fund a trading account and begin investing right away.

IBEX brokers with no charges, instant processing and flexible limits should be top of your list. A low minimum deposit requirement should also be a key point to look out for, particularly if you are new to retail investing.

Additional Tools

The best IBEX 35 brokers offer useful facilities such as copy trading or strategy builders. These solutions are ideal for both new and experienced investors to learn from professional traders.

Live news streams and economic calendars with the latest Spanish corporation news can also provide valuable insights to support trading decisions. Press conferences held by the European National Bank (ENB) can create significant volatility in the IBEX, for example.

What Is The IBEX 35?

The Iberian index, or IBEX 35, comprises the most liquid high market-cap companies listed on the Spanish central stock exchange, the Bolsa de Madrid. The index was incepted in 1992 and consists of 35 member companies. The best brokers that support trading on IBEX 35 provide investment opportunities on individual constituents or the index as a whole.

The index is reviewed twice annually and stocks can be relegated to or prompted from the IBEX Medium Cap index. Prominent European stocks such as Banco Santander, Siemens Gamesa, Telefonica, and Melia hotels are currently part of the index.

The MEFF offers derivatives on the IBEX 35 through options and futures contracts. At the same time, investors can also speculate on the IBEX through other derivative instruments such as tracker ETFs and CFDs. Our list of the top IBEX 35 brokers offer a mix of leveraged CFDs and ETFs.

Price Determinants

Several significant factors can have a measurable impact on the performance of the IBEX:

Single Stock Performance

Due to its small size, major changes in the performance of a highly weighted stock can significantly affect the overall IBEX 35 price. This leaves retail investors more exposed to individual stock fluctuations than in a more extensive index such as the FTSE 100 or S&P 500.

Global Economy

As one of the prominent European indices, changes in the global economic outlook have a knock-on effect on the IBEX 35. Often through no individual failings or achievements of the constituent companies themselves, indices will move on global market sentiment.

For example, the most significant IBEX 35 historical price movements were recorded during the 2007-8 financial crisis, with a one-day percentage fall of 7.5% on 1st January 2008, followed by a 6.95% rise on 4th January 2008.

More recently, the knock-on impacts of the 2022 Ukraine-Russia war have caused the IBEX to fall significantly, as shown in the chart below.

Value Of The Euro

The value of the Euro compared to other major global currencies such as GBP and USD will also affect the valued of the IBEX 35 today.

A stronger Euro will tend to mean an increase in the share prices of leading European stocks, of which there are several in the high-market-cap-weighted IBEX 35, such as Inditex.

Major Sector Performance

The IBEX 35 can be heavily exposed to specific market areas as many of its stocks operate within the same sector.

One example is banking, with Banco Santander, BBVA, Sabadell and Bankinter all included within the index. Another is energy, Endesa, Naturgy and Repsol are among the six total energy stocks within the IBEX.

Local Economy

The performance of the local economy in Spain also significantly impacts its leading exchanges. While almost all of the companies within the IBEX 35 operate internationally, a solid or weak home economy will have implications for its most prominent stocks.

The country has also historically suffered from high unemployment, affecting the index’s outlook and the nation’s trading economics.

Price & Performance

As you will see at IBEX 35 brokers, the price today differs depending on the market traded. The spot price of the index is separate from the futures price for different expiry times. These prices will further differ from the total return price, which considers the dividends paid to investors each year the index has existed.

The highest historical price of the IBEX 35 to date was €16,040.40 on 9th November 2007. Conversely, the lowest historical value of the index occurred on 5th October 1992, when the IBEX 35 hit €1,861.90.

The IBEX never fully recovered from the 2007-8 financial crash and has not reached close to its 2007 all-time high, finding steadfast resistance at around the €12,000 price point in the last 15 years.

Analysis of trading graphs can reveal further significant price points in the IBEX 35 market history.

Dividends

Several high dividend-yield companies within the IBEX 35 include Merlin Properties, Mapfre, BBVA and ACS. However, these are balanced by several companies that do not pay dividends to their shareholders, such as Melia Hotels, ArcelorMittal and IAG.

These results combine for an average return of between 1% and 4% dividend per year in recent history. This poor dividend yield means traders who wish to specialize in dividend stock indices should look to the IBEX Top Dividendo. This index includes several of the high dividend yield stocks of the IBEX 35.

IBEX 35 Members

Here are all of the companies currently listed within the IBEX 35, along with their market sectors:

• Acciona (ANA)– Construction
• Acerinox (ACX)– Steel manufacturing
• ACS Group (ACS)– Construction
• Aena (AENA)– Aviation
• Amadeus IT Group (AMS)– Tourism
• ArcelorMittal (MTS)– Steel manufacturing
• Banco Sabadell (SAB)– Financial services
• Bankinter (BKT)– Financial services
• BBVA (BBVA)– Financial services
• CaixaBank (CABK)– Financial services
• Cellnex Telecom (CLNX)– Financial services
• Enagás (ENG)– Natural Gas
• Endsea (ELE)– Electricity
• Ferrovial (FER)– Infrastructure
• Fluidra (FDR)– Industrials
• Grifols (GRF)– Phrarmacetuicals
• IAG (IAG)– Aviation
• Iberdrola (IBE)– Electricity
• Inditex (ITX)– Fashion
• Indra (IDR)– IT services
• Inmobiliaria Colonial (COL)– Housing
• Laboratorios Rovi (ROVI)– Pharmaceuticals
• Mapfre (MAP)– Insurance
• Meliá Hotels (MEL)– Tourism
• Merlin Properties (MRL)– Housing
• Naturgy (NTGY)– Natural Gas
• PharmaMar (PHM)– Pharmaceuticals
• Red Eléctrica (REE)– Electricity
• Repsol (REP)– Oil and Gas
• Banco Santander (SAN)– Financial services
• Siemens Gamesa (REE)– Renewable energy
• Solaria (SLR)– Renewable energy
• Telefónica (TEF)– Telecommunications

IBEX 35 Strategies

Regarding strategies, every investor should have their own approach based on careful analysis and individual opinions. However, our experts have put together a few basic recommendations to give you some ideas:

News

The trader that can react quickly and correctly to emerging market news is one step ahead of the game. When trading the IBEX 35, traders should look out for regional news.

These include announcements from Spain’s major banks or the European central bank (ECB) as well as company or sector-specific news today. Investors can use this information to create profitable trades using a variety of instruments or cash out of or hedge existing positions.

For the short-term but volatile changes caused by significant news, our experts forecast that day-trading-suited instruments such as leveraged CFDs and ETFs are good choices.

Note, the best IBEX 35 brokers offer integrated newstreams and push notifications to stay up to date with important announcements.

Scalping

During periods of high economic volatility, traders can take advantage of tumultuous market conditions to make quick profits by scalping. In this strategy, traders are looking to quickly flip assets for profit based on price discrepancies between providers rather than carry positions to expiry.

Note, not all IBEX 35 brokers permit scalping strategies on their platforms.

Hedging

Some instruments, such as mutual funds, spread bets and binary options, can be difficult or impossible to cash out quickly to take early profits or reduce risk. This is where hedging comes in.

Investors can take opposing positions using a variety of instruments, including single stock investing, ETFs, CFDs and futures to hedge their existing positions.

Dividend Investing

Dividend investing is a strategy made popular by famous investors such as Warren Buffet and his mentor, Benjamin Graham. This is a largely passive and hands-off form of investment that can earn traders a reliable income even through unfavorable market conditions.

For the IBEX 35, investors may wish to individually invest in several high dividend-paying stocks rather than the index as a whole. This helps significantly increase the dividend yield of the investment. Alternatively, investors can look at a similar dividend-focus index, the IBEX Top Dividendo.

Opening Hours

The IBEX 35 trading hours are from 9:00 am CEST to 5:30 pm CEST from Monday to Friday, excluding market holidays such as Christmas and New Year’s Day.

However, IBEX 35 futures hours are slightly different and follow the MEFF opening hours. Investors can trade IBEX 35 futures from 8:00 am CEST to 8:00 pm CEST Monday to Friday.

It’s also worth checking the opening times of IBEX 35 brokers to make sure they offer market and platform access at the times you wish to trade.

Final Word On IBEX 35 Brokers

Brokers with access to the IBEX 35 expose investors to Spain’s most liquid and high market cap listed companies. In addition, the index offers significant exposure to the financial services industry through highly weighted stocks such as BBVA, Banco Santander and CaixaBank. Importantly, many instruments are available for day trading, swing trading and investing in the IBEX 35, such as futures, ETFs and CFDs.

Head to our list of the best IBEX 35 brokers to get started.

FAQs

What Is IBEX 35 Trading?

The IBEX 35 is an index comprising 35 of the highest market-cap companies that are listed on the Bolsa de Madrid. The top brokers that support trading on the IBEX 35 offer leveraged CFDs or direct stock dealing on individual firms.

Is The IBEX 35 Due An Expansion?

There are no plans to extend the IBEX 35 past the largest 35 stocks currently represented. However, this index is highly liquid and updated twice annually to reflect changing market conditions. Retail traders may want to keep an eye on new entrants and those firms expected to fall out of the index to capitalize on market opportunities.

When Are The Next IBEX 35 Dividends?

Dividends for IBEX 35 stocks occur throughout the year and are paid out to investors upon these individual dates. The best IBEX 35 brokerages offer economic calendars and dividend schedules, alongside technical analysis tools and historical data.

Is Trading The IBEX 35 Possible In Dollars?

Several instruments allow traders to invest in or speculate on the IBEX 35 in dollars. These include ETFs, mutual funds, CFDs and binary options. Check which vehicles IBEX 35 brokers offer before creating an account and depositing funds.

Where Is The IBEX 35 From?

The IBEX 35 consists of companies listed on the Spanish exchange – the Bolsa de Madrid. However, some companies, such as IAG and ArcelorMittal, are headquartered elsewhere.