Dollar has slight increase; see quotation today – 04/24/2023 – Market

The Stock Exchange operates in a slight low in the early afternoon of this Monday (24), while the dollar is closer to stability. Shares in Vale and steelmakers pull the index down, on account of fears of a new wave of Covid-19 infections in China. The increase in Petrobras shares prevents a worse performance.

At 1:15 pm (Brasília time), the Ibovespa was down by 0.20%, at 104,156 points. The spot commercial dollar fell by 0.07% to R$5.055.

In futures markets, interest rates were falling. In the contracts for January 2025, the rates retreated from 11.97% at the close of last Thursday (20) to 11.91%. Upon maturity in January 2027, interest will increase from 11.94% to 11.89%. In January 2029, the rate drops from 12.32% to 12.30%.

According to information from the Bloomberg agency, the weekend in China was marked by increased fears of a new wave of Covid-19 cases in the country.

According to reports, the word “Covid” was one of the most popular searches on the Weibo platform, one of China’s most popular social networks. The subject “second wave of Covid” had more than 95 million searches this Monday alone.

All this because the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention mentioned, at the end of last week, a new sub-variant of the virus.

Zhang Wenhong, one of the leading Chinese experts on Covid-19, said that the most vulnerable groups should receive a booster dose of the disease vaccine, and that the population should start stocking up on medicines as a way to prepare for new variants.

At 1:15 pm, Vale’s common shares were down 3.58%. A new wave of Covid would disrupt China’s economic recovery, already seen in the first quarter figures released last week.

In addition, iron ore has been falling in recent days, leaving the level of US$ 120 a ton and approaching US$ 115 in the Chinese markets.

Other industry stocks also retreated. CSN Mineração’s ordinary shares stand out, down 5.36%. CSN’s common stock fell 3.23%, and Gerdau’s preferred stock fell 2.74%. Usiminas’ preferred class A fell less, 0.69%, as the company presented better-than-expected numbers in the first quarter.

In Brazil, the market remains attentive to the political scenario, focusing mainly on the progress of the new fiscal framework in Congress.

Demanded by parliamentarians and pressured by the lack of a solid base, President Lula’s government seeks to accelerate the transfer of additional funds to each deputy as a way of improving the climate in Congress and approving measures of interest to the Planalto Palace.

Negotiations around the release of this type of funding take place mainly in the Chamber and are now also under the likely creation of a CPI to investigate the January 8 coup attacks —the government seeks to have a majority of deputies and senators on the commission, in addition to to appoint chairman and rapporteur.

Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said this Monday (24) that no country criminalizes authorities for failing to meet the fiscal target, in defense of a device proposed in the new fiscal framework to replace the spending ceiling.

For the analysts at Guide Investimentos, investors are now keeping an eye on the progress of the project in Congress. They point out that this Tuesday (25), the president of the BC (Central Bank), Roberto Campos Neto, will go to the Senate to speak about maintaining the interest rate at 13.75% per annum.

In the next few days, the market will pay attention to the release of the IPCA-15, in Brazil, which comes out next Wednesday (26). On Thursday (27), the US GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for the first quarter will be released, and on Friday (28), the US consumer inflation will be released.

In the United States, stock indices are falling. According to analysts, indicators have shown an economic slowdown above expectations, and this week will be marked by the release of balance sheets from large technology companies, with the prospect of worsening numbers.

This weekend, the situation of the retail chain Bed, Bath & Beyond, which filed for bankruptcy protection, was reported.

At 1:15 pm ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.19%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down 0.31% and 0.84%, respectively.