The turmoil in the foreign market made the stock market fall for the first time after two consecutive highs and close April with the biggest drop since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, in March 2020. The dollar started the day at a strong low, but the deterioration of the international market made the currency reverse the movement and close the day practically stable, with a slight increase.
The B3 Ibovespa index closed this Friday (29) at 107,876 points, down 1.86%. The indicator started the day with a strong rise, rising 1.7% around 11 am and approaching 112 thousand points. The mood, however, changed in the early afternoon, as negative data from US stock markets influenced trading across the globe.
With today’s performance, the stock market ended April with a drop of 10.1%, the worst monthly result since March 2020. The Ibovespa is at its lowest level since January 18th. In 2022, the indicator still accumulates a high of 2.91%.
Bad data from retail giant Amazon, which profited less than expected due to inflation in the United States, caused US stocks to have their biggest daily losses since 2020. The S&P 500 index, of the 500 largest companies, fell 3.63 %. The Dow Jones, of industrial companies, lost 2.77%. The Nasdaq of technology companies fell 4.17%.
The dollar also had a volatile day, but high interest rates in Brazil managed to prevent the currency from rising further. The commercial dollar closed the day sold at R$4.943, with a slight increase of 0.06%. During the morning, the currency operated at a strong low, falling to R$ 4.86 shortly before 10 am, but started to rise influenced by the foreign market.
The US currency ended April up 3.81%, the highest in seven months. In 2022, the currency accumulates a fall of 11.36%. The month of April had started optimistically for the exchange rate. On April 4, the dollar reached BRL 4.608, the lowest level since March 4, 2020, a week before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since the 22nd, several factors have pushed the dollar higher. The rise in inflation in the United States, which is at the highest level in 40 years, reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed, US Central Bank) will increase interest rates more than expected. High rates in advanced economies encourage capital flight from emerging countries such as Brazil.
Second, the tightening of measures to lockdown in China caused the deceleration of the second largest economy on the planet. The expectation that the Asian country will buy fewer commodities (primary goods with international quotations) has put downward pressure on the prices of agricultural and mineral products, but these items have risen in value in recent days after China eased social restriction measures in the main region. steel producer in the country.
* With information from Reuters
