The Spanish selective Ibex 35 closed Tuesday down, outperforming other European stock markets, weighed down by large banks and the energy sector, while investors are still waiting for the U.S. inflation report to be published on Wednesday.

After starting the first session after Easter, the index turned around and traded in the red until the close of the session, becoming the black sheep of the Old Continent's stock markets.

According to Franco Macchiavelli, head of analysis at Admirals Spain, market breadth in the Ibex is the main reason for this negative tone in the selective index.

"Especially when we don't see relevant news that sets a bearish course for the index, it is the stocks that make up the index that set the pace of the day," he said.

In fact, Santander, which has a weight of more than 10% in the Spanish selective index, fell by more than 2%, and Iberdrola, which has an even greater weight (more than 15%), also showed falls of close to 1%.

The Ibex's particular behavior on Tuesday was also influenced by the index's inability to overcome the 9,400-point mark, a turning point for the selective index in its rebound towards the annual highs, said Diego Morín, an analyst at IG.

After a transitional session, the US consumer price index, scheduled for Wednesday, will be the main benchmark for the week, due to its possible weight in the upcoming monetary policy maneuvers of the Federal Reserve, which holds its next meeting on May 3.

If the escalation in prices continues to cool, as forecast by analysts polled by Reuters, who are betting on a 5.2% increase compared to 6.0% in February, the Fed is likely to raise rates just once more, although "the central bank's policy path will depend on the data as it comes in," said New York Fed President John Williams on Tuesday.

Spain's selective Ibex-35 stock market closed down 74.60 points on Tuesday, down 0.80%, to 9,237.70 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks rose 0.55%.

In the banking sector, Santander lost 2.84%, BBVA fell 1.49%, Caixabank gave up 1.23%, Sabadell gained 0.59%, Bankinter gained 1.84% and Unicaja Banco rose 2.27%.

Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefónica gained 0.17%, Inditex advanced 0.13%, Iberdrola dropped 0.64%, Cellnex fell 1.39%, and the oil company Repsol rose 0.32%.

Among the other electricity companies, Naturgy fell 1.39%, while Endesa dropped 0.34%.

Outside the selective market, the energy engineering group Técnicas Reunidas stood out with a fall of 16.82%, after launching a capital increase of up to 150 million euros (163.5 million dollars) at a deep discount.

(Reporting by Matteo Allievi; edited by Tomás Cobos)