Practice English with NewsPractice with News
Business135 words1 min read

Spain's Ibex 35 Rises 1% Despite Fed Interest Rate Hike

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Listen to the story

Spain's stock market went up on Wednesday. The Ibex 35 is the main stock index in Spain. It rose by 1%. It went above 19,800 points.

This happened after the Fed made a decision. The Fed is the central bank of the United States. It raised interest rates. Higher interest rates can sometimes make stock markets go down. But the Ibex did not go down.

News writers said the Ibex 'did not feel scared' by the Fed. This means the Spanish market stayed strong even after the news.

At the same time, the price of oil fell. Oil went down to 103 dollars a barrel. A barrel is a way to measure oil.

Investors watch news like this every day. They use it to decide when to buy or sell shares.

Vocabulary8 words

stock index
a number that shows how many companies' shares are doing
points
small units used to measure a stock index
Fed
the central bank of the United States
interest rates
the cost of borrowing money
oil
a liquid used to make fuel and energy
dollars
the money used in the United States
barrel
a container used to measure oil
shares
small parts of a company that people can buy

Quiz

1. What happened to the Ibex 35?
2. What did the Fed do?
3. True or False: Oil prices went up.

Fill-in-the-blank listening

Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.

Spain's stock market went up on Wednesday. The Ibex 35 is the main _____ in Spain. It rose by _____. It went above 19,800 _____.

This happened after the _____ made a decision. The Fed is the central bank of the United States. It raised _____. Higher interest rates can sometimes make stock markets go down. But the Ibex did not go down.

News writers said the Ibex 'did not feel scared' by the Fed. This means the Spanish market stayed _____ even after the news.

At the same time, the price of _____ fell. Oil went down to 103 _____ a _____.

Investors watch news like this every day. They use it to decide when to buy or sell _____.

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