On a day of instability in the financial market, the stock market fell sharply, and the dollar rose amid uncertainty about interest rates in Brazil and abroad. Remittances of profits from branches of foreign companies contributed to putting pressure on the exchange rate.
The Ibovespa index, from B3, closed this Tuesday (16) at 158,557 points, with a drop of 2.42%. One day after exceeding 162 thousand points, the indicator fell sharply, reaching the lowest level since the 9th.
The foreign exchange market also had a turbulent session. The commercial dollar closed the day selling at R$5.462, up R$0.039 (+0.73%). The price began the day falling, but reversed its movement during the morning. At the high of the day, around 12:30 pm, it reached R$5.47.
The US currency is at its highest level since the 10th. The currency rises 2.38% in December, but falls 11.62% in 2025.
Both internal and external factors put pressure on the financial market. In Brazil, the release of electoral surveys and the release of the minutes of the last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) brought instability to the negotiations.
The minutes did not provide indications of when the Central Bank (BC) should start lowering the Selic Rate (basic interest rates for the economy). The uncertainty kept investors away from the stock market because a possible maintenance of high interest rates at the January Copom meeting encourages migration from the stock market to fixed income.
In the United States, the announcement that the country’s economy created 64,000 jobs outside the agricultural sector last month was poorly received. The number was higher than expected, which reduces the chances of the Federal Reserve (Fed, American Central Bank) cutting interest rates in January. High rates in advanced economies encourage capital flight from emerging countries, such as Brazil.
* with information from Reuters
