Stocks resist slump on Wall Street on concerns about Covid and inflation

The Brazilian stock market sustained a slight increase this Thursday (16), when the American and European stock exchanges took different paths when interpreting data on monetary tightening and the effects of the advance of the omicron variant on the global economy.

The Ibovespa, the indicator that concentrates most of the business on the Brazilian stock exchange, rose 0.83%, to 108,326 points. The dollar gave 0.49%, to R$ 5.6800. The devaluation of the American currency against the real was pushed by the Central Bank, which sold US$ 830 million (R$ 4.72 billion) in cash.

In Europe, the main indices of the London, Paris and Frankfurt stock exchanges grew just over 1% each.

The European Central Bank said it would withdraw its asset purchase program, but would maintain stimuli to avoid a slowdown in economic activity while several countries in the bloc face the advance of the new strain of the Covid-19 virus. England’s monetary authority was the first to raise interest rates, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

In the United States, the markets retreated a day after investors showed sentiment with the announcement of a hike in interest rates by the Fed (Federal Reserve, the US central bank) in line with expectations or even less aggressive than the high scenario. of inflation would suggest, according to some analysts.

On Nasdaq, where technology companies are listed and which tend to be more vulnerable to contractionary monetary policies, there was a strong drop of 2.47%.

The S&P 500 index, the benchmark for the American market, dropped 0.87%. The Dow Jones, made up of companies less sensitive to monetary tightening, dropped 0.08%.

Holiday parties and even theatrical performances on Broadway in New York are being canceled as the country faces a rapid advance in contamination by the omicron variant, reported the New York Times on Thursday.

Pessimistic interpretations of the monetary tightening in Europe and concerns about Covid’s advance negatively influenced the US market, analysts told the Wall Street Journal.

Brent oil, a world reference, rose 1.16%, to US$ 74.74 (R$ 425.69).

Without replicating the negative expectations of the stock market, the commodity gained momentum with the expectation of heating demand in the United States, after Fed President Jerome Powell declared yesterday that omicron is less of a threat than inflation.

Petrobras shares advanced 1.33%.

Signs of increased steel production in China encouraged paper purchases by the Brazilian mining and steel sectors.

Vale rose 3.91%, being one of the main factors responsible for sustaining the rise in the Ibovespa. CSN advanced 6.04%.

According to a report from Clear Corretora, a survey of mills carried out by the China Iron and Steel Association indicated that crude steel production in the first ten days of December increased by almost 12% compared to the previous month.

Analyst Rafael Ribeiro, from Clear, pointed out that Chinese industrial production rose 3.8% from October to November, above the market’s 3.6% expectation, already showing signs of recovery after the poor performance at the beginning of the semester .

Shares in Americanas and Lojas Americanas rose 8.93% and 8.58%, recording the highest growth in the trading session. Also pulling the list of earnings for the day, Qualicorp jumped 5.54%.

“The shares of Americanas and its holding Lojas Americanas continue the upward movement, reflecting a correction in prices after intense falls in the retail sector. Qualicorp shares rise after Cade’s approval for a potential increase in the share of Rede D ‘or in the company,” informed the market research team at Ativa Investimentos.

JBS retreated 1.39%. BNDES ​ (National Bank for Economic and Social Development) sold approximately 70 million shares of the company in the meatpacking sector on Thursday, equivalent to about 12% of the bank’s share in the largest global meat producer, and obtained around R$ 2.6 billion with the deal, according to Reuters.

Banco Inter and Getnet shares retreated 7.72% and 4.74%, respectively, on the day B3 withdrew its shares from the second preview of the Ibovespa for January 2022.