BRAZIL: Ibovespa Falls 0.45% With Trade War Fears

(RTTNews) - Ibovespa, the benchmark stock index in Brazil, closed down 0.45% at 84,820.42 points Friday, amid renewed fears of a trade war between the United States and China. In the week, the Ibovespa dropped 0.64%.

In the domestic scene, investors monitored the expectation on the arrest of the former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as well as Henrique Meirelles resignation from the Finance Ministry to a likely presidential bid. Despite that, "we were at the mercy of the outside market," said Mirae Asset COO Pablo Spyer.

In the business field, Eletrobras' common shares had the biggest drop in the index, of 9.03%, after the outgoing energy and mining executive secretary, Paulo Pedrosa, and the minister of mines and energy, Fernando Coelho, raised uncertainty among investors on the privatization of the power company.

On the positive side, Suzano shares rose 4.08%, while Rumo shares gained 3.9%. Petrobras' preferred shares were the most traded of the day, rising 0.61%.

The locally traded U.S. dollar closed up 0.77%, quoted at R$ 3.368, the highest level since May 2017, reflecting the environment of risk aversion and the caution of investors both domestically and abroad.

For the next week, analysts said that the markets must react to the new chapters of the trade war between Washington and Beijing. While an escalation could push the Ibovespa lower, an easing in the mood could turn it bullish.