Brazilian equities ended the trading session lower on Thursday, dragged down by broad weakness in Real Estate, Public Utilities and Financials. At the close in Sao Paulo, the Bovespa lost 1.45%.
A modest number of names bucked the downward trend. The top performers on the Bovespa were Brava Energia SA (BVMF:BRAV3), which rose 5.02% or 0.95 points to trade at 19.96 at the close. Marfrig Global Foods (BVMF:MBRF3) climbed 4.20% or 0.83 points to finish at 20.48, while Prio SA (BVMF:PRIO3) gained 2.20% or 1.48 points to end the session at 68.55.
On the downside, the heaviest falls were recorded by Braskem SA (BVMF:BRKM5), which dropped 7.22% or 0.79 points to trade at 10.19 at the close. Direcional Engenharia SA (BVMF:DIRR3) declined 5.74% or 0.81 points to finish at 13.34, and Equatorial Energia SA (BVMF:EQTL3) fell 5.24% or 2.21 points to 40.14 in late trade.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the B3 Stock Exchange by 629 to 308, while 41 stocks finished unchanged.
Notably, shares of Prio SA (BVMF:PRIO3) reached an all-time high during the session, closing up 2.20% or 1.48 points to 68.55.
The CBOE Brazil Etf Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Bovespa options, moved lower, down 1.78% to 40.31.
Commodities displayed mixed direction. Gold Futures for June delivery fell 3.33% or 152.80 to $4,432.70 a troy ounce. Crude oil for delivery in May rose 3.35% or 3.03 to $93.35 a barrel, while the May US coffee C contract declined 2.85% or 9.00 to trade at $307.10.
Currency moves were moderate. USD/BRL was up 0.37% to 5.25, and EUR/BRL rose 0.18% to 6.05. The US Dollar Index Futures was higher as well, up 0.30% at 99.70.
Market participants observed a session in which sectoral pressure in real estate, utilities and financials outweighed gains in select industrial and consumer-related names. Volatility eased slightly even as more names declined than advanced, and commodities and FX showed differentiated behavior across the board.