Ibovespa rises 0.71%, supported by banks, mining and steel companies

The Ibovespa contradicted the New York stock exchanges and other domestic assets and ended this Wednesday (18), with a gain of 0.71%, at 112,228.39 points, the second consecutive high at the close. While the drop in oil prices weighed on Petrobras shares, companies linked to metallic commodities had a positive performance and helped sustain the index. The recovery of bank shares, damaged in recent trading sessions by the Americanas crisis, also gave breath to the Brazilian Stock Exchange today.

In the morning, weaker-than-expected data on activity and producer inflation in the United States reinforced the expectation of a deceleration in the pace of monetary tightening in the country and led the index to operate above 113 thousand points, reaching a maximum of 113,306.24 points (+1.68%), reached at 12:45 pm. But, in the afternoon, the fear that the indicators foreshadow a recession prevailed and led to a drop in US stock markets, which limited the performance of the Ibovespa.

The domestic scenario also contributed to reduce the momentum of the Brazilian Stock Exchange, after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) announced the creation of an inter-ministerial group to develop a policy to value the minimum wage. In an event with trade unionists to discuss the issue, the petista defended that the wage floor has to grow in line with the expansion of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and reiterated the promise to increase the range of exemption from Income Tax to cover those who earn up to BRL 5 thousand.

“Several global assets worsened mainly after noon, also reflecting St. Louis Fed President James Bullard’s speech, which suggested that if the Fed is to err, it will err on the side of tightening monetary policy too much,” he notes. chief economist at Nova Futura Investimentos, Nicolas Borsoi. “There was a sourness at the global level, but Lula’s speeches regarding the minimum wage signaled greater intervention in the economy and a new worsening in the fiscal perspective and accelerated the trend abroad.”

This scenario weakened the Ibovespa, but it was not enough to prevent the Brazilian Stock Exchange from registering the second consecutive day of gains. The expectation for the reopening of the Chinese economy maintained the positive vector for iron ore and benefited companies related to metallic commodities, with emphasis on Vale (+1.31%), Gerdau (+3.28%), CSN (+3 .16%) and Usiminas (+2.39%).

The shares of banks also maintained the recovery trend, supported by the flow of foreign capital that returned to the Brazilian Stock Exchange after fears with the exposure of companies to Americanas. The financial sector index ended the day up 1.32%, led by Santander (+2.78%) and BTG Pactual (+2.21%), which secured in court the blocking of BRL 1.2 billion in retailer resources.

At the negative end of the index, the falls of 0.81% for WTI oil for February and 1.09% for Brent for March penalized Petrobras shares, which lost 1.76% (PN) and 1.28% (ON ), while the market awaits details on the meeting of the future president of the company, Jean Paul Prates (PT), with directors of the oil company today.