Petrobras reaches highest stock market value in history thanks to Bolsonaro’s electoral surge

Just one week before the election of Brazil’s next president, the stock market value of the country’s largest company, Petrobras, reached a record high of R$525 billion (about US$101 billion).

On May 21, 2008, it reached another high of just over 510 billion reais.

The reason for this jump, according to local media, is due to the current head of state Jair Bolsonaro’s lead in the polls.

A Modalmais/Futura poll released Friday showed that the former army captain would lead the race for the first time with 50.5% of valid votes.

Other polls earlier in the week also indicated a greater preference for Bolsonaro.

In the Ipec (Inteligência em Pesquisa e Consultoria Estratégica) poll, his rival and former leftist party leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT, left), saw a drop in voting intention from 51% to 50%, while Bolsonaro gained from 42% to 43%.

In Datafolha, Bolsonaro rose 1 percentage point to 45%.

Possible re-election is seen by the market as a trigger for the state-owned company’s shares, as he has already declared his intention to privatize the company, a strategy that contrasts with that of his opponent.

Moreover, Bolsonaro would interfere less in state-owned companies than da Silva’s candidacy.

“State-owned companies are surging on the stock market this week as Bolsonaro rises in the polls and Lula falls. The market opinion for state-owned companies is very clear in this sense,” said Gustavo Cruz, strategist at RB Investimentos, according to Exame Invest.

In addition to Petrobras, Banco do Brasil is also trading high on the local bourse, with a cumulative gain of more than 13% this week.

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