The Ibovespa, Brazil’s leading stock index, initially fell following stronger-than-expected U.S. employment data.
However, it quickly rebounded, gaining strength on Friday. This surge was driven by significant gains in blue-chip stocks, particularly Petrobras and Vale.
At approximately 12:25 PM in Brasília, the index had climbed by 0.84% to 127,071 points. Simultaneously, the U.S. dollar traded at R$ 4.91, marking a modest increase of 0.06%.
The job creation numbers in the U.S. for November exceeded expectations, with 199,000 new jobs compared to the estimated 185,000.
Additionally, the unemployment rate saw a slight decrease from 3.9% in October to 3.7% in November.
These robust employment figures led to speculation about the Federal Reserve’s interest rate plans.
Experts now question whether the Fed will cut rates as soon as markets had previously expected.
Étore Sanchez, Chief Economist at Ativa Investimentos, noted a dampened outlook for an early rate cut by the Fed.
Jeffrey Rosenberg from BlackRock commented on the report, acknowledging its positivity.
Yet, he pointed out the difficulty in predicting the Fed’s policy actions, given the current low unemployment rate.
Globally, investors are also focusing on consumer confidence data from the University of Michigan and China’s consumer and producer inflation data for November.
Ibovespa closed the previous day with a modest gain of 0.31% on the performance front, reaching 126,010 points. The trading volume for the day stood at R$ 1.050 billion.
Grupo Soma, EzTec, and Yduqs led the gains, with increases of 5.68%, 5.44%, and 4.75%, respectively. On the downside, São Martinho, Cielo, and Hypera experienced declines.
Year-to-date, the Ibovespa had recorded a 14.83% increase up to the last trading session, reflecting a positive trend in the Brazilian stock market.