Ibex 35 Surges on Banking Sector Gains

The Spanish Ibex 35 index surged to 19,799.90 points by mid-session on Friday, driven by gains in the banking sector.

The increase of 0.71% comes after the European Central Bank's (ECB) decision to raise interest rates by 25 basis points on Thursday.

Julius Baer's chief economist, David Kohl, stated that markets anticipate further monetary tightening but moderate core inflation may reduce the need for rate hikes.

Banco Sabadell led gains with a 1.48% increase, followed by Mapfre and Unicaja, both up 1.47% and 1.34%, respectively.