Brazil’s Stocks Fall as Fed Concern Adds to Local Economic Woes
- Risk aversion is exacerbated by uncertainties over recovery
- Commodity producers Usiminas, Petrobras fall most on Ibovespa
This article is for subscribers only.
Brazil’s Ibovespa joined a global rout Thursday as material producers including miner Vale SA and oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA slumped on concern that the Federal Reserve may start raising interest rates as soon as next month, prompting investors to pare bets in riskier markets.
Brazil’s benchmark equity gauge fell for a fifth straight day. Petrobras, as Petroleo Brasileiro is known, contributed the most to the index’s drop, and Vale declined to the lowest price since April 7. Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA fell the most among steelmakers in the Western Hemisphere as iron ore dropped to a two-month low. Commodity producers account for 21 percent of the Ibovespa’s weighting.