On a public holiday in the United States, the financial market had a tense day, affected by news in the domestic market. The dollar rose by almost 1%, and the stock market fell below 110,000 points, impacted both by news of economic policy in Brasília and by the accounting scandal at Lojas Americanas.
The commercial dollar ended this Monday (16) sold at BRL 5.149, up by BRL 0.042 (+0.83%). The quotation started the day operating close to stability, but accelerated from 15:00. At the maximum of the day, around 16:10, it reached R$ 5.16.
Even with today’s appreciation, the US currency will fall in 2023. In the first 16 days of January, the currency has accumulated a drop of 2.48%.
In the stock market, the day was marked by pessimism. The B3 Ibovespa index closed at 109,213 points, down 1.54%. The indicator traded lower throughout the session, accelerating the fall towards the end of the day.
Without the reference of the North American market, which did not open today, Brazilian investors were impacted by two pieces of news. The first was confirmation that the government does not intend to reverse the 35% exemption for the Tax on Industrialized Products (IPI). This morning, the vice-president and minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, Geraldo Alckmin, said, at an event with businessmen, that the government intends to extinguish the tax in the tax reform that will be resumed this semester.
Later, the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, who is on a trip to Davos (Switzerland), said that the government did not include the reenactment of the IPI in the package announced last week to signal the intention to move forward with the tax reform this year.
The measure displeased the financial market because the end of the IPI exemptions would have the potential to reinforce the collection by around R$ 100 billion this year. The amount would offset eventual frustrations, such as the non-approval by Congress of part of the measures announced last week.
On the stock exchange, the crisis at Lojas Americanas once again interfered with the stock market. After rising about 20% on Friday (13), the company’s shares collapsed today, falling 38.41%, after the disclosure that the retailer’s debt with banks is around R$ 40 billion, double the amount initially announced. The Justice of Rio de Janeiro granted an injunction that protects the company from debt collection for 30 days, but the investment bank BTG appealed the decision.
*With news from Reuters
