The Spanish stock index Ibex-35 rose on Monday, with its sixth consecutive positive session in sight, extending a bullish streak that has taken it above pre-pandemic levels.

The index is aiming to consolidate recent gains in the session, driven by expectations that global central banks may start cutting interest rates next year as inflation slows.

This week, the focus will be on the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's latest meeting, after its policymakers held rates steady for the second consecutive meeting.

Any hint of aggressiveness in monetary policy could unsettle markets, which are already taking for granted a sharp and early easing in 2024.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the final inflation figure for the eurozone for October will be released, which, according to Renta 4, "should confirm its moderation to 2.9% headline and 4.2% core, in the right direction, but still far from the 2% target".

In Spain, the focus will continue to be on the new configuration of the government and the political situation after the investiture of Pedro Sánchez, at the beginning of "a legislature that seems fragile," according to Renta 4.

Otherwise, this week's Black Friday sales will test the pulse of the US economy, driven by consumer spending, while Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday will see limited volume in European markets.

At 08:05 GMT on Monday, Spain's selective Ibex-35 stock market was up 23.40 points, or 0.24%, to 9,784.80 points, at levels not seen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2020.

For its part, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks advanced by 0.05%.

In the banking sector, Santander rose 0.47%, BBVA fell 0.05%, Caixabank advanced 0.52%, Sabadell gained 0.19%, Bankinter gained 0.48%, and Unicaja Banco rose 0.70%.

Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefónica gained 0.61%, Inditex advanced 0.70%, Iberdrola dropped 0.63%, Cellnex gained 1.81%, and the oil company Repsol rose 1.20%.

Among the stocks in negative territory, Endesa fell almost 2% after learning that it will have to pay 570 million dollars following an arbitration over an LNG contract.

On the other hand, Elecnor, which is not listed on the Ibex, rose 11% on the news of the sale of Enerfin to Statkraft at a valuation of 1.8 billion euros.

(Information by Flora Gómez; edited by Tómas Cobos)