Mar 26 (Reuters) - Spain's IBEX 35 stock index rose slightly on Tuesday with a boost from big stocks such as Santander and Repsol, but stopped just shy of 11,000 points in the absence of new factors to justify massive buying.

The appetite for risk - revived by hopes of interest rate cuts - was contained after mixed comments from the heads of the Federal Reserve, while the financial markets await the figure for the underlying private consumption deflator (known as the PCE index), which will be known on Friday.

According to the securities firm Renta 4, this figure could confirm "the difficulty for inflation to continue moderating", as did other recent indicators.

In any case, these analysts warn that both the PCE and the statements to be made by the president of the Federal Reserve (Fed) on Friday will take place with the markets closed for Good Friday, so the impact will not be seen in the stock market until the following business day, Tuesday, April 2.

"All this against a backdrop where the market is still discounting 3 Fed rate cuts by 2024, although the latest statements from members are mixed, ranging from 1 to 3 expected cuts," they explain.

On Monday, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic was "definitely less confident" than in December about continued progress on the inflation front, and one of the Fed's governors, Lisa Cook, recalled the current difficult balance between the dangers of easing monetary policy too soon and those of going too slowly.

Against this backdrop, and after five upward sessions, at 08:14 GMT on Tuesday the Spanish selective IBEX 35 stock market index was up 23.40 points, or 0.21%, to 10,975.60 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks was down 0.17%.

Santander, which rose 1.04% after Barclays upgraded its recommendation, and the oil company Repsol, which rose 0.88% after an agreement to increase its production of renewable fuels.

In the banking sector, BBVA fell 0.05%, Caixabank advanced 0.63%, Sabadell gained 0.87%, Bankinter lost 1.42%, and Unicaja Banco lost 0.36%.

Among the large non-financial stocks, Telefónica gained 0.63%, Inditex advanced 0.07%, Iberdrola lost 0.13% and Cellnex gained 0.06%.

(Information by Tomás Cobos; edited by Javi West Larrañaga)