Markets, Business & Tech Briefing: PSI Rebounds 1.1%, BCP Jumps 4.9%, REN Profit Up 42%
The Lisbon market bounced back on Thursday, with the PSI climbing 1.07% to close at 9,145.86 points and recovering all of Wednesday's 0.93% slide. A powerful rally in the banks did the heavy lifting, more than offsetting another weak session for Galp. Below, the closing scoreboard, the day's fixed-income and currency moves, and the corporate headlines that mattered.
Market Snapshot
Fourteen of the index's sixteen members rose. Banco Comercial Português (BCP) was the standout, surging 4.92% to €1.067 — its best single-day gain in weeks — as international brokers lined up behind the stock (more below). The construction names followed, with Mota-Engil up 3.45% to €4.674 and Teixeira Duarte adding 3.44% to €0.4965.
The main drag was again Galp Energia, which slipped 1.98% to €19.60 as crude prices softened and the market continued to digest Lisbon's decision, reported earlier today, to revive a windfall levy on refiners. Corticeira Amorim (Amorim Cork) eased 0.90% to €6.60 and grid operator REN dipped 0.42% to €3.525 even as it reported sharply higher profit.
Bonds & Currency
Portuguese debt firmed. The yield on the 10-year Obrigações do Tesouro (Treasury Bonds) eased about three basis points to 3.51%, with the risk premium over the German Bund little changed as core-euro yields moved in tandem. The euro was the bigger story in currencies: EUR/USD rose 0.55% to $1.1530, its firmest in weeks, after eurozone GDP expanded 0.4% in the second quarter — double the 0.2% consensus and the bloc's strongest reading since early 2025.
REN's Half-Year Profit Jumps 42% to €93.4 Million
REN — Redes Energéticas Nacionais (National Energy Networks), which operates Portugal's electricity and gas transmission grids, reported first-half net profit of €93.4 million, up 42.1% from a year earlier — a €27.7 million improvement. The regulated utility credited the jump to higher allowed returns and its expanding asset base. Investors took the numbers in stride, nudging the shares fractionally lower on the day, but the result cements REN as one of the more resilient earners on the index heading into the autumn.
Brokers Pile Into BCP After Strong Results
Thursday's move in BCP — the Millennium-branded lender that is the largest listed bank on the PSI — was driven less by the tape than by the research desks. Jefferies called the bank's recently reported half-year figures "above expectations" and reiterated a buy rating, while ratings agency DBRS forecast even stronger 2026 earnings, with the domestic Portuguese business leading growth. BCP had posted first-half net profit of €565.5 million, up 12.7%, lifted in part by its Polish operation. The endorsements sent the stock nearly 5% higher and pulled the wider banking sector up with it.
Sonae's Earnings Cap a Busy Results Week
Rounding out a heavy stretch of corporate reporting, retail-to-telecoms conglomerate Sonae disclosed this week a first-half net profit of €123 million, up more than 20%, on record turnover of €5.6 billion (+6.3%). Grocery arm MC (Modelo Continente) lifted food and pharmacy sales to €4.4 billion, while telecoms holding NOS saw net profit leap 34% to €78 million. The figures land alongside a wave of bank results — Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) at €913 million (+2.2%) and Santander Totta at €453 million (−14%) — that has defined the last few sessions in Lisbon.
Outlook
With the euro firming on upbeat growth data and the banks freshly endorsed by analysts, sentiment enters Friday on a stronger footing — though a still-soft Galp and profit-taking after Thursday's surge could temper the follow-through.
This briefing is for information only and does not constitute investment advice. Figures reflect Thursday's Lisbon close. Sources: Euronext Lisbon, Jornal Económico, Jornal de Negócios, ECO, Trading Economics.
