Markets, Business & Tech Briefing: PSI Slips 0.6%, BCP Lifts on Results, Bund Spread Holds 35bps

Lisbon, Tuesday 28 April 2026 — close.

PSI: Index Slips Below 9,400 as Construction Names Drag

The PSI ended the session in the red, retreating roughly 0.6% to close near 9,360 points after opening above 9,449. The benchmark printed an intraday low of 9,332 before recovering modestly into the bell, mirroring a softer European tape pressured by sticky inflation expectations and crude prices ahead of Thursday's ECB meeting. Volume on Euronext Lisbon was thinner than the recent rolling average, with index moves driven by a handful of names rather than broad-based selling.

Movers: BCP Resilient on Results, Mota-Engil and Teixeira Duarte Drag

Banco Comercial Português was the day's standout among the heavyweights, holding firm around the €0.92 level after publishing a Q1 net profit of €71.2 million — up 68% year-on-year, helped by the Polish Bank Millennium subsidiary and a 61% drop in Swiss-franc mortgage provisioning. Construction names were the weight on the index: Mota-Engil and Teixeira Duarte both finished lower in a session where civil-works exposure and a firmer euro weighed on overseas margins.

Among utilities and energy, EDP and EDP Renováveis held narrow ranges after the previous session's outsized gains, while Galp gave back part of its post-results pop from Monday — the integrated oil and gas group remains the year's best performer in the index after Q1 net profit hit €272 million on a near-tripled refining margin. Jerónimo Martins continued to consolidate around €20 ahead of next week's quarterly update.

Rates: Portuguese 10-Year Anchored Near 3.4%, Spread Steady

The Portuguese 10-year OT traded in a 3.37%-3.47% band through the session, ending close to 3.40% as the German Bund equivalent climbed above 3.05% — its highest since 2011 — on renewed hawkish positioning across the euro area. The PT-Bund spread held around 35 basis points, broadly unchanged on the week, with IGCP set to confirm its May syndicated issuance window in the coming days. Italian and Spanish paper traded in line with Portugal, leaving peripheral spreads narrow heading into the ECB.

FX: EUR/USD Eases to 1.1698 as Inflation Print Looms

The euro lost ground against the dollar, with EUR/USD slipping 0.20% to 1.1698 as traders positioned for Wednesday's Eurozone Q1 GDP flash and Friday's HICP release — Eurozone April inflation is expected to print at 2.9%, the highest since December 2023, on energy-led pass-through. The ECB is expected to hold on Thursday, but rates markets are still pricing in at least two further quarter-point hikes through 2026.

Corporate & Tech: TAP Privatisation Phase Three, Mercosul Trade Door Opens 1 May

Aviation and travel-services exposure was the other macro thread of the day after the cabinet authorised phase three of the TAP privatisation, giving Air France-KLM and Lufthansa 90 days to submit binding bids for the 44.9% stake — a final decision is targeted for late August. While TAP itself is not listed, the timetable is being read as positive for Lisbon-airport-linked names and Iberia-route exposure across the European carriers.

Exporter desks were also focused on the Mercosul-EU agreement, which enters provisional force on Friday 1 May with Brazil naming Lisbon as its preferred European gateway — a structural tailwind for Portuguese logistics, agri-food and port operators over the coming quarters. Separately, Banco de Portugal's Q1 Bank Lending Survey flagged tighter SME credit criteria but a forecast cooling in mortgage demand into Q2, a mixed read for the domestic banks ahead of BPI and Santander Totta numbers later this quarter.

Outlook for Wednesday

Eyes on the Eurozone Q1 GDP flash and US Q1 GDP advance, both due Wednesday — a softer European print would weigh on the euro and could give peripheral bonds room to grind tighter into Thursday's ECB.

Markets, Business & Tech Briefing is The Portugal Brief's daily wrap of the Lisbon session. Sources: Euronext Lisbon, Bank of Portugal, ECB, Eurostat, Lusa.