Awaiting decisions on interest rates in Brazil and the United States, the financial market had a mixed day. The dollar fell for the fifth time in a row and closed below R$5.50 for the first time in three weeks. The stock market closed slightly lower, but remained above 135,000 points.
The commercial dollar closed this Tuesday (17) sold at R$5.488, with a drop of R$0.022 (-0.39%). The price started the day close to stability, but consolidated the downward trend during the afternoon. In the final hour of trading, it firmed below R$5.49.
The US currency is at its lowest value since August 23, when it closed at R$5.47. In the last five business days alone, the price has fallen by 2.95%. In 2024, the currency will rise by 13.1%.
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The stock market did not have such a good day. The Ibovespa index, from B3, closed at 135,960 points, down 0.12%. After falling 0.69% in the first half hour of trading, the indicator recovered during the afternoon, but was unable to reverse the decline.
Without the release of relevant economic data, expectations regarding interest rates in Brazil and the United States influenced investors. On Wednesday (18), the Federal Reserve (Fed, the US Central Bank) and the Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) of the Brazilian Central Bank will decide on the basic interest rates.
In the United States, the Fed is expected to lower interest rates for the first time since 2020. The question is whether the rate will fall by 0.25 or 0.5 percentage points. In Brazil, Copom is expected to do the opposite and promote the first interest rate hike in two years. According to the Focus bulletin, a weekly survey of financial institutions released by the Central Bank, the Selic rate should rise 0.25 points at this meeting.
The expectation of higher Brazilian interest rates reduces pressure on the dollar, but encourages the stock market to fall. This is because investors tend to migrate from stocks, a risky investment, to fixed income, which offers attractive rates with less risk.
* with information from Reuters
