Dollar Reaches R$5.32 for First Time in History; IBOVESPA Closes Down 3.8 Percent
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Friday’s IBOVESPA downturn caused the Brazilian Stock Market’s main index to accrue a 5.3 percent loss in the week. Despite the optimistic news regarding a potential agreement between Russia and Saudi Arabia to end the oil price war, the sharp drop in the number of jobs in the United States eventually eclipsed investors’ good mood.
According to data released yesterday by the Department of Labor, the US recorded a loss of 701,000 jobs in March.
According to Bloomberg economists, 100,000 jobs were lost in the first quarter of 2020. The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices closed down between 1.5 and 1.7 percent with the information.
The IBOVESPA closed the trading session on Friday down by 3.76 percent to 69,537 points, with a trading volume of R$22.03 billion.
The US dollar futures traded for May were up by 1.36 percent to R$5.338. The commercial dollar rose by 1.14 percent to R$5.3245 in purchase and R$5.3261 in sale.
In the week, the US currency appreciated 4.3 percent. The Ptax Dollar sold high for the tenth week running in the week ended April 3rd. In the year, the cumulative high of 31.48 percent is the fifth largest annual appreciation (considering the period up to April 3rd) since 1995, shortly after the Real was introduced.
On the futures market, the DI futures for January 2022 climbed eight basis points to 4.08 percent, the DI for January 2023 was up 16 basis points to 5.53 percent, and the DI for January 2025 recorded a gain of 26 basis points to 7.20 percent.
A wave of negative economic data also helped dismantle positions bought before the weekend. In the eurozone, Markit reported that the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) plummeted from 51.6 points in February to 29.7 points in March, CNBC reported.
The data showed the greatest contraction in economic activity in 20 years in Italy, Spain and France, the three most affected countries by the coronavirus epidemic on the continent.
Here, the Markit PMI for Brazilian services dropped from 50.4 points to 34.5 points in March, reflecting the effect of the coronavirus on economic activity.
China was the exception, while the Caixin services PMI released on Thursday night rose more than projected in March, from 26.5 to 43.
Yesterday, generalized losses did not even spare Petrobras, which was up earlier following the price of oil on the international market. The Brent barrel soared 15.9 percent yesterday, reaching US$34.70, amid anticipation of an agreement by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) after Saudi Arabia called a meeting to discuss the crisis in the market.
Opep+ meets on Monday, April 6th, to discuss a proposal to cut the group’s collective production by at least six million barrels per day (Bpd), in response to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the commodity market, according to sources heard by Dow Jones Newswires.
The same sources said the Russians are unlikely to agree to the reduction if the United States does not agree to join the initiative. Therefore, Opep+ is considering inviting the US and Canadian producers to the teleconference.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter that he spoke with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and, after the conversation, expected Russians and Saudis to cut up to 15 million barrels a day in oil production. However, Russia denied that it had held talks with Saudi Arabia.
Source: Infomoney
Deep Dive
For the complete picture, read our in-depth guide: Latin America Stock Markets 2026: Ibovespa, Merval, COLCAP, IPSA and IPC Guide
Live Market IntelligenceBrazil — Live Market Board
Rio Times · Live Market Intelligence
Brazil — Live Market Board
+2.44%
177,547.57
+2.44%
67,298.78
+0.88%
11,009.22
+0.50%
3,379,771
+0.00%
2,297.00
-0.19%
57,575.02
—
| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBOV | 177,547.57 | +2.44% | +32.46% | 173,325.65 | — | — | — |
| USD/BRL | 5.06 | +0.04% | -9.12% | 5.05 | 5.06 | 5.04 | — |
| SELIC | 14.25% | — | — | — | — | — | |
| PETR4 | 42.58 | +2.21% | +35.82% | 41.66 | 42.74 | 41.97 | 38,183,300 |
| VALE3 | 75.10 | +3.96% | +30.61% | 72.24 | 75.25 | 73.34 | 17,699,600 |
| ITUB4 | 42.90 | +0.87% | +26.25% | 42.53 | 42.98 | 42.27 | 21,968,600 |
| BBDC4 | 18.97 | +2.26% | +21.37% | 18.55 | 18.97 | 18.50 | 36,435,800 |
| BBAS3 | 21.09 | +1.01% | +6.03% | 20.88 | 21.13 | 20.72 | 19,245,300 |
| B3SA3 | 15.90 | +4.81% | +21.65% | 15.17 | 15.92 | 15.21 | 46,018,300 |
| ABEV3 | 16.13 | +2.09% | +20.37% | 15.80 | 16.14 | 15.74 | 28,786,900 |
| WEGE3 | 46.74 | +10.05% | +13.12% | 42.47 | 47.06 | 44.80 | 34,056,700 |
| PRIO3 | 59.77 | +2.73% | +40.37% | 58.18 | 59.99 | 58.66 | 5,034,400 |
| SUZB3 | 42.66 | +2.47% | -16.78% | 41.63 | 42.69 | 41.65 | 4,974,100 |
| RENT3 | 37.14 | +1.61% | +3.74% | 36.55 | 37.57 | 36.42 | 16,101,400 |
| AZZA3 | 17.81 | +1.89% | -50.51% | 17.48 | 17.81 | 17.06 | 1,753,800 |
| CSNA3 | 5.38 | +6.32% | -37.15% | 5.06 | 5.43 | 5.09 | 13,057,800 |
| GGBR4 | 24.06 | +2.43% | +42.28% | 23.49 | 24.09 | 23.46 | 7,453,900 |
| ENEV3 | 25.97 | +2.16% | +88.19% | 25.42 | 26.08 | 25.32 | 5,925,700 |
Read More from The Rio Times