Brazilian equities closed higher on Thursday in Sao Paulo, with the Bovespa finishing the session up 0.72%. Sector strength in Real Estate, Financials and Consumption supported the advance.
Top and bottom movers
- Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA USIMINAS Pref (BVMF:USIM5) led gains, climbing 7.97% or 0.73 points to finish at 9.88.
- C A Modas SA (BVMF:CEAB3) added 5.84% or 0.61 points to close at 11.12.
- MRV Engenharia e Participacoes SA (BVMF:MRVE3) rose 4.89% or 0.30 points to end the day at 6.43.
- Bradespar SA (BVMF:BRAP4) was among the weakest, falling 1.72% or 0.40 points to 22.84.
- Vale SA (BVMF:VALE3) declined 1.70% or 1.43 points to 82.90.
- SLC Agricola SA (BVMF:SLCE3) slipped 1.59% or 0.28 points to 17.44.
On market breadth, advancing issues outnumbered decliners, with 583 stocks up versus 347 down on the B3 Stock Exchange, and 39 stocks finishing unchanged.
Notably, shares of USIMINAS Pref (BVMF:USIM5) moved to a 52-week high during the session, reflecting the stock's 7.97% gain and a close at 9.88.
Volatility, commodities and currencies
The CBOE Brazil Etf Volatility index, which measures implied volatility for Bovespa options, rose 40.20% to 44.50, marking a new one-month high according to the session data.
Commodity price moves were mixed. Gold futures for June delivery fell 1.14% or 53.70 to $4,653.00 per troy ounce. Crude oil for June delivery increased 0.89% or 0.90 to $101.92 per barrel. The July US coffee C contract declined 2.08% or 5.85 to trade at $274.90.
On the foreign exchange front, the Brazilian real strengthened modestly against the dollar, with USD/BRL down 0.29% to 4.99. EUR/BRL fell 0.82% to 5.84. The US Dollar Index Futures was higher, up 0.38% at 98.79.
What the session shows
Thursday's close left the Bovespa higher on the day, supported by select large percentage gains among individual names and a broader number of advancing issues than decliners. At the same time, a jump in the Brazil ETF volatility measure and mixed moves in commodity and currency markets highlighted areas of uncertainty for market participants.