DJ Brazilian Shares Rise, Led by Petrobras; Real Strengthens Against Dollar
Last update: 26/09/2014 5:50:44 pm
By Jeffrey T. Lewis
SAO PAULO--Brazilian shares rose Friday, led by state-controlled oil company Petrobras, and the real strengthened against the dollar, ahead of the release of a poll on voting intentions for the country's October presidential elections.
The benchmark Ibovespa stocks index rose 2.2% to 57212 points. The real exited active trading at 2.4124 to the dollar, according to Tullett Prebon via FactSet, after closing at 2.4287 on Thursday.
In recent weeks Brazilian shares frequently have risen ahead of the release of polls containing bad news for President Dilma Rousseff, and have fallen ahead of polls showing her gaining ground on her main challenger, Marina Silva.
The Datafolha polling company is scheduled to release its latest poll Friday after the close of trading. Investors have complained that Ms. Rousseff's economic policy is too interventionist, for instance by forcing Petrobras to sell imported gasoline at below cost to help keep inflation under control.
Petrobras, the most heavily weighted company in the Ibovespa, had the biggest gain in the index Friday, climbing 5.5% to 20.94 reais. Other state-controlled companies also rose. Power utility Eletrobras advanced 4.1% to 7.33 reais and Banco do Brasil gained 3.2% to 29.83 reais.
Write to Jeffrey T. Lewis at
jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 26, 2014 16:50 ET (20:50 GMT)
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