Markets, Business & Tech Briefing: PSI Ticks Up as Pulp Stocks Rally, EDP and Jerónimo Martins Report Thursday

How the Market Traded

The PSI (Portuguese Stock Index) closed at 9,134.58 on Tuesday, up 12.55 points or 0.14% from Monday's 9,122.03 close — a modest rebound that clawed back part of the previous session's 0.9% slide. Basic materials and consumer-services names did the heavy lifting, while banks and utilities dragged; gainers and decliners were split almost evenly across the benchmark.

Pulp and Paper Steal the Show

Paper stocks led the market. Navigator jumped 2.97% and rival Altri rose 2.78% as pulp prices continued to recover and recent tariff increases fed through to margins; Semapa, Navigator's parent holding company, added 1.24% and cork group Corticeira Amorim gained 1.39%. The move builds on Navigator's first-half results released last week, which showed net profit of €49 million — down 42% year-on-year as energy, raw-material and logistics costs bit — but with second-quarter margins improving on firmer pulp and packaging prices. First-half sales came in at €869 million and EBITDA at €143 million.

Banks and Utilities Weigh

BCP (Banco Comercial Português), the country's largest listed bank, led the fallers with a 1.50% drop, and grid operator REN (Redes Energéticas Nacionais, the national electricity and gas network) slipped 1.36%. Galp eased a further 0.36%, extending its post-earnings retreat after Monday's results, while Sonae and EDP (Energias de Portugal) finished a touch lower.

Yields and the Currency

Portuguese debt firmed. The 10-year government bond yield eased about three basis points to 3.46%, holding its spread over the German Bund at roughly 36 basis points — still near the tightest levels since the euro-area debt crisis and a marker of how far Portugal's credit standing has recovered. In currencies, the euro was little changed against the dollar at about $1.137.

Earnings Week Reaches Its Peak

Thursday is the busiest day of Portugal's reporting season. Both EDP and Jerónimo Martins publish first-half results on 30 July. Jerónimo Martins — owner of Poland's Biedronka discount chain and Portugal's Pingo Doce supermarkets — climbed 2.60% today as investors positioned ahead of the print; its first-quarter profit had fallen about 7% amid heavy price competition in Poland. EDP, which lifted its full-year guidance to €5.2 billion of EBITDA back in May, closed roughly flat. The pair follow Galp, which on Monday reported a 45% jump in adjusted second-quarter profit to €540 million and proposed a 10% dividend increase to €0.70 a share.

Tomorrow's Outlook

Wednesday is quiet on the domestic calendar, so the spotlight stays on Thursday's EDP and Jerónimo Martins results. Expect the PSI to consolidate around 9,100 to 9,150 in the meantime, with the paper names and the banks the ones to watch.