On another day of domestic and foreign tensions, the dollar approached R$5.50 and closed at its highest level in six months. The stock market rose for the fifth consecutive session, supported by the recovery of U.S. equity markets.
The trading dollar closed at R$5.496 on Thursday (21), up R$0.036 (+0.65%). The rate fell in the first hour of trading, reaching the daily minimum at R$5.43 shortly before 10 am.
However, after the European Central Bank (ECB) raised the key interest rates in the eurozone by 0.5 percentage points, which was the first increase in 11 years, it went steeply up.
The ECB decision and the expectation that the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) will meet next week led to capital flight from emerging markets such as Brazil, putting pressure on local currencies. The dollar hit its highest level since January 24, when it closed at R$5.50, and is down just 1.4% from the end of 2021.
The traded euro, which recently lost value against the dollar, rose 1.04% after the ECB raised interest rates. The currency closed at R$5.615 this Thursday, reaching its highest level since March 16, when it was at R$5.62.
STOCK MARKET
In the stock market, the day was more optimistic. The Ibovespa Index (B3) closed the day at 99,033 points, up 0.76%. The indicator reached a high of 0.5% in July but still fell by 5.5% by 2022.
The stock markets in Brazil and the United States have reacted in recent days to the publication of quarterly financial statements of companies. The current price declines have made some stocks very cheap, which has sparked investor interest in the securities and contributed to the recovery of the indices.