Brazil: Ibovespa has the second-best week of the year, resumes the 115,000 points

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Ibovespa, the main B3 index, closed in positive territory on Friday, March 18, following the greater appetite for risk in the international market. The Ibovespa had its second-best week of the year, with a high of 3.22% in the period.

Ibovespa: +1.98%, 115.310 points.

Signals from the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, against the war between Russia and Ukraine contributed to the fourth straight trading session of highs on Wall Street. The theme was a subject between the Asian leader and the president of the United States, Joe Biden.

In Brazil, the Ibovespa started the day down but came out of the red still in the first business of the day, with Petrobras shares pulling the bullish movement, as investors reacted to statements from President Jair Bolsonaro, who eased concerns about government interference in the state-owned company. In a live on March 17, on his Facebook page, Bolsonaro said he could not change Petrobras’ board of directors. “Petrobras is practically independent,” he said.

Petrobras (PETR4): +2%.

The positive tone gained strength throughout the day with the improvement in the international environment, with several shares of the index closing with highs of more than 6%. Stocks that started the day with significant drops, such as Lojas Renner and B3, which presented balance sheets last night, turned to highs. Yduqs, which accumulated devaluation of more than 15% in the week, ended the trading session with a high of 11%, almost erasing the period’s losses, even after the result disappointed analysts.

Yduqs (YDUQ3): +11.13%.

This week, CVC and MRV, which presented their balance sheets, rose more than 9%. CVC, which released better-than-expected numbers, accumulated more than 25% for the week.

CVC (CVCB3): +9.80%.
MRV (MRVE3): +9.69%.

Lojas Renner closed with a more than 5% high after falling more than 5% in the minimum of the day. The recovery was followed by B3 shares, which closed with gains, despite the result below expectations. The company, responsible for the operations of the Brazilian stock exchange, recorded a recurring net income of R$1.23 billion (US$260 million) in the fourth quarter, R$60 million below the Bloomberg consensus. Recurring EBITDA, which came in at R$1.65 billion, disappointed by almost R$120 million.

Lojas Renner (LREN3): +5.46%.
B3 (B3SA3): +1.51%.

Despite the improvement in the market’s mood, Fleury’s shares were penalized, as they closed at the bottom of the Ibovespa after the release of the fourth-quarter results.

Fleury (FLRY3): -2,14%.

Among the shares with the greatest weight in Ibovespa besides Petrobras’, Vale’s shares had a significant contribution to the rise of the index, climbing almost 2%, after the iron ore appreciated again.

Vale (VALE3): +1.90%.

Brazil’s unemployment rate drop was also on the market’s radar, standing at 11.2% for the quarter ending in January. The figure represents a drop of 1 percentage point compared to the rate of 12.2% in the previous quarter. Market expectations were for an unemployment rate of 11.4%.

Despite the drop in unemployment, André Perfeito, chief economist at Necton, highlights the actual average income, which fell 9.7% compared with the same period last year. “The data suggest a still fragile activity throughout this year. Inflation is taking a high toll: despite the recovery in employment data, this is not transformed into income, making it difficult for the economic machine to gain traction,” he said.

The dollar fell for the third consecutive day against the real, following its devaluation against other emerging currencies, such as the Mexican peso.

Dollar: -0.37%, 5.016 reais