The Ibovespa – the benchmark index for the Brazilian stock market – closed the session with a drop of 0.15%, at 108,578 points. The financial volume traded totaled BRL 19.7 billion, below the daily average of BRL 30 billion in December of this year. 
In addition to the reduced volume of trading, the session was marked by the decline in stocks linked to consumption, reflecting uncertainties about the beginning of the third term of president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
On the other hand, commodity-linked securities rose, with emphasis on Vale, after China announced that it should ease restrictions against covid-19 in the country.
The dollar rose 1.5% and closed at R$5.28, the highest daily percentage since November 25, when it closed at 1.8%.
In the evaluation of specialists interviewed by Reuters, the lack of a complete staff of Lula’s ministerial team and the possibility of extending the fuel exemption negatively influence the exchange rate.
“The market is waiting for these new names. They need to be disclosed, but the market also needs these names to be seen with good eyes by the market itself”, evaluates Larissa Brito, financial planner at Planejar.
During the day, the Central Bank sold US$ 2 billion in purchase and sale auctions in the interbank market, an operation that occurs at times of lack of liquidity in the market.
*With information from Reuters
