BRAZIL: Ibovespa Falls Amid Economic And Political Uncertainty

(RTTNews) - Ibovespa, the benchmark stock index in Brazil, fell 1.30% to 84,334.41 points Friday, influenced by the almost stable service revenues in February - which, together with the drop in retail sales, suggests that the Brazilian economy has not yet caught traction. The lack of definition of the electoral scenario and the external landscape, amid greater risk aversion, also weigh on the index, which dropped 0.2% in the week.

The chief economist of Homebroker Modalmais, Alvaro Bandeira, said that since March 16 the index has not been able to break the 85,500-point range, nor fall below 83,300 points. According to him, this is a "congestion zone" and shows how the market is undefined.

According to Levante Investimentos chief strategist Rafael Bevilacqua, the weakest data on the Brazilian economy posted during the week ended up weighing Friday with the addition of lower revenues in services.

In the political arena, the market is waiting for the release of the first voting intention polls after the arrest of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

BRF shares had the largest drop in the index (-4.57%), amid another chapter of the "Abilio Diniz soap-opera," after minority shareholders asked to change the voting process followed by a rumor that Diniz would have called for an extraordinary meeting of the councilors.

Financial sector stocks have fallen because they are more sensitive to economic activity. Ita? Unibanco's shares lost 2.32%, Banco do Brasil's shares fell 3.36%, while Bradesco's dropped 2.18% and Cielo's shares fell 3.89%. The highest additions to the Ibovespa are the shares of P?o de A??car (+3.49%) and Cesp (+2.53%).

The locally traded U.S. dollar closed the trading session rising 0.58%, quoted at R$ 3.427, reflecting the cautious environment that prevailed in the business here and abroad. The market remains apprehensive of the threats of geopolitical conflicts between the United States and Russia on Syria.