Brazil Markets Roiled as Petrobras CEO Ouster Sparks Angst
- Real lags peers after Brazil changes management at oil giant
- Petrobras shares slump amid fresh concern on interference
Jean Paul Prates
Photographer: Dado Galdieri/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Brazilian markets missed out on a global rally on Wednesday as the sudden dismissal of the top executive of state-owned Petroleo Brasileiro SA sparked fresh concerns over government interference at the oil giant.
The benchmark stock gauge dropped 0.5%, with Petrobras leading losses with a decline of as much as 8%, the biggest intraday slump since it announced a lower-than-expected dividend on March 8. The real fell as much as 0.8% in Sao Paulo, and even after trimming most of the losses following US CPI data, still trailed emerging-market currencies — the Mexican peso, one of its closest peers, rose 1.2%.