The Ibex-35 opened Wednesday with little change, in a day of transition until the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting is known, with a significant advance in Inditex after publishing its quarterly results.

On Tuesday, a higher-than-expected inflation figure was released in the U.S., which dashed hopes of a rapid cut in interest rates next year.

"We expect (Jerome) Powell to maintain rates (5.25%-5.50%), but also to curb market expectations of a rate cut as soon as March and by up to five rate cuts in 2024," said analysts at Renta 4 about the Fed chairman's conference, which will take place when the markets are already closed.

Equity markets had rallied strongly in recent weeks on the perception that inflation was easing and thus paving the way for interest rate cuts, but in recent days this optimism has been dampened by signs of price persistence.

"At Renta 4 Banco we share the market's view that rates have peaked, but we do not share the expectations of an early and intense reduction in intervention rates, insofar as we consider that we cannot yet claim victory in terms of inflation control," said the analysts at the brokerage firm.

"We will also pay attention to the update of macro tables, which will give us a better idea of how the monetary authorities see the momentum of the cycle and inflation, which in turn will determine their future actions in terms of rates and balance sheet," they added.

At 0812 GMT on Wednesday, Spain's selective Ibex-35 stock market index was up 0.50 points, or 0.00%, to 10,119.20 points, while the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index of large European stocks was up 0.14%.

The stock that helped the Spanish selective index the most was Inditex, which advanced 0.70% after improving its gross margin forecasts for fiscal 2023, with a strong increase in profit in the first nine months, despite a slowdown in revenues. The group also reported a solid sales performance in the first weeks of the fourth quarter.

In the banking sector, Santander lost 0.54%, BBVA fell 0.36%, Caixabank dropped 0.16%, Sabadell fell 0.20%, Bankinter dropped 0.43% and Unicaja Banco rose 0.11%.

Among the other large non-financial stocks, Telefónica fell 0.89%, Iberdrola gained 0.17%, Cellnex gained 0.06%, and the oil company Repsol lost 1.19%.

(Information by Tomás Cobos; edited by Benjamín Mejías Valencia)