Follow the dollar rate and the Stock Exchange today – 02/28/2023 – Market

The dollar fluctuated close to stability shortly after opening this Tuesday’s (28th) trading session, with investors still digesting news of the return of federal taxes on fuel and attentive to data from public accounts released by the Central Bank.

The BC announces data on the primary surplus and public debt for January 2023, the first month of the Lula government. The data can serve as a parameter for the challenges that the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, will face in the fiscal sphere.

At 9:12 am (Brasília time), the spot dollar advanced 0.08%, to R$ 5.2111 in the sale.

The day before, the dollar traded on the interbank market closed at R$5.2071, up 0.16%.

This Monday (27), the Stock Exchange and the dollar fluctuated between highs and lows throughout the day, and closed close to stability. The market expected a decision on the resumption of the collection of federal taxes on fuels, but after the decision, the assets continued close to zero to zero.

The Ibovespa closed down by 0.08%, at 105,711 points. The spot commercial dollar closed up 0.13%, at R$5.205. At the low of the day, the currency reached the quotation of 5.17.

In the interest rate market, the trend is downward. For contracts maturing in January 2024, rates increased from 13.46% at the close of last Friday (24) to 13.37% per annum. For January 2025, interest rates increased from 12.77% to 12.62%. When due in January 2027, rates dropped from 13.06% to 12.85%.

The Lula government has decided that it will once again charge taxes on the sale of fuel in the country. The charge, however, will be at different rates.

The percentages will be higher for fossil fuels (gasoline) and milder for biofuels such as ethanol.

Government members met this Monday to discuss the issue, with the participation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, and the president of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates.

The provisional measure signed by Lula on the first day of his term provides that the exemption from PIS and Cofins will be valid until Tuesday (28) for gasoline, ethanol, aviation kerosene and vehicular natural gas. That is, taxation would resume from Wednesday (1st), if there was no new act.

Before the exemption, the rates were up to R$ 0.69 per liter of gasoline and R$ 0.24 per liter of ethanol.

Regarding the difference in charging between gasoline and ethanol, the Ministry of Finance says that the new model is under discussion between the government and Petrobras. The Treasury’s executive secretary, Gabriel Galípolo, traveled to Rio de Janeiro to meet with company directors and discuss the matter.

Petrobras common shares closed this Monday up 1.65%, and preferred shares rose 0.69%. The roles fluctuated quite a bit. At the maximum of the day, the common paper rose almost 3%.

Banks also played an important role in the performance of the index on Monday. Data from the Central Bank showed a drop of 2.4% in the balance of credit granted in the country in January compared to December.

Banco do Brasil common shares closed down 1.35%. Bradesco’s common and preferred shares fell by 0.08% and 0.97%, respectively. Itaú Unibanco’s preferred stock fell 1.28%. The Unit of Santander Brasil had a decrease of 0.75%.

In the United States, stock markets partially recovered from the falls accumulated last week. For analysts, investors tried to “digest” the scenario of high interest rates for a longer time in the country.

This Monday, US industry orders for capital goods were released. There was an increase of 0.8% in January compared to December.

The sign of this indicator is that industries in the United States continue to invest to increase production capacity in the long term, even with uncertainties about the continuity of economic growth.

In New York, the Dow Jones index closed up 0.22%. The S&P 500 rose 0.31%. The Nasdaq index ended up 0.63%.