The Ibex 35 falls 1.59%, weighed down by the banking sector and Trump's threats.

The Ibex 35 had its worst session on Wednesday since the outbreak of the tariff crisis on Liberation Day last April, falling 1.59% to 13,811.8 points, weighed down by the banking sector and on a day marked by threats against Spain from the President of the United States, Donald Trump, for not committing to military spending of 5% of GDP.

The national index has been on a strong downward trend since the opening bell and has been by far the most pessimistic European index, erasing all the gains it made yesterday and moving decisively away from the 14,000-point mark.

The main indicator of the Spanish market was affected by the declines in the banking sector on a day also highlighted by the release of the domestic Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

On the international front, Trump has threatened Spain with trade retaliation for not committing to military spending of 5% of GDP at the NATO summit in The Hague.

"Spain is terrible, what they've done. They're the only country that won't pay in full," the US president said at a press conference following the NATO summit, where all allies agreed to raise defense spending to 5% . However, Spain insisted on its own spending path, aligned with NATO's military objectives.

According to Trump, Spain's economy is doing well but could take a turn for the worse if "something bad happens," at which point he has warned that he will make the country "pay double" and that the country will "repay" the lack of military investment through trade.

Regarding the macroeconomic agenda, it was revealed today that the Spanish economy grew 0.6% in the first quarter of the year, one-tenth less than the previous quarter, and moderated its year-on-year growth by five-tenths, from 3.3% to 2.8%.

In the Spanish business arena, Banco Sabadell has announced that it is "immersed" in the final phase of developing its new strategic plan, which it will present on July 24, according to a statement issued Wednesday to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), one day after the Council of Ministers decided to authorize BBVA's takeover bid (OPA) for the Catalan firm.

For its part, BBVA is evaluating the condition imposed by the government for the bank to launch a takeover bid (OPA) for Banco Sabadell and the "various alternatives" now open, including withdrawing the transaction.

Given this situation, at the close of trading, the largest gains within the Ibex 35 were recorded by Acciona Energía (+2.6%) and ACS (+1.32%) in a small group of seven bullish stocks.

At the other end of the spectrum, the sharpest declines were led by Puig (-3.34%), BBVA (-3.09%), Naturgy (-2.7%), Santander (-2.39%), Telefónica (-2.16%), Iberdrola (-2.15%), and Sabadell (-2.15%). Other major stocks such as Unicaja, Bankinter, CaixaBank, and Inditex also suffered corrections of more than 1%.

Also regarding the Spanish Stock Exchange, it is worth noting that the board of the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) has approved the necessary changes for the implementation of the new IPO method known as BME Easy Access. With this new option, companies wishing to list will have access to a new, simpler and more agile procedure, with fewer risks for the listing process, the supervisor reports in a statement.

The major European stock markets also fell, although less sharply than the Spanish market: Milan fell 0.39%; London fell 0.46%; Frankfurt fell 0.61%; and Paris fell 0.76%.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude , the benchmark for Europe, rose 1.83% in the afternoon to $68.36, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark for the United States, rose 1.94% to $65.58.

In the foreign exchange market, the euro was trading at 1.163 greenbacks against the dollar, up 0.18% from the previous day, while the interest rate on the 10-year Spanish bond closed at 3.224% after gaining two basis points, with the risk premium relative to the German bond at 66 points.

A troy ounce of gold rose 0.1% to $3,325, while bitcoin rose 1.2% to $107,500.