With the feeling of greater risk aversion prevailing among investors due to the uncertainties brought by the new omicron variant of the coronavirus, the Brazilian Stock Exchange followed the trend observed in global markets and closed in a sharp drop.
This Monday (20), the Ibovespa, the main stock index on the local market, had a devaluation of 2.03%, to 105,019 points.
The performance of Petrobras shares, which represent about 10% of the index, made a relevant contribution to the result — the preferred shares of the state-owned company retreated 2.86%, at R$ 28.16, and the common shares yielded 1.92%, to BRL 30.20.
The movement came in the wake of the realization observed in oil prices, which retreated 2.26% around 6:30 pm, to US$ 71.86 (R$ 409.95).
In the exchange rate, reflecting the rush of investors for safer assets, the dollar in cash jumped 1% this Monday, quoted at R$ 5.7410 for sale, the highest level since March 30 (R$ 5,7580).
“The climate of risk aversion is due to fears about the evolution of the omicron. The new strain has already been found in 90 countries and the soaring number of cases is not a negligible risk. So much so, that even with the reported minor severity of the cases cases, the Netherlands decided to make a new lockdown until the second week of January”, says Rafael Ribeiro, investment analyst at Clear Corretora.
The shares of CVC (-8.56%, at R$13.89), CSN (-6.83%, at R$23.73) and PetroRio (-6.16%) also had strong losses this Monday. , at R$ 19.05), more linked to the theme of reopening the economy.
“The issue of Itapemirim had some marginal weight in the fall of the shares of CVC and airlines, but today the great highlight was certainly the risks related to the micron”, says Rodrigo Crespi, an analyst at Guide Investimentos, adding that the period of school holidays at the end of the year and the speed of dissemination of the new variant also weigh negatively for more cyclical roles.
In the United States, with renewed uncertainties due to the pandemic, the day was also marked by widespread falls among the shares of the main market indexes — the S&P 500 retreated 1.14%, while the Nasdaq closed down 1.24%, and the Dow Jones gave 1.23%.
Ribeiro, from Clear, adds that the United Kingdom has also signaled that it may adopt new restrictions, with the possibility of measures in other countries on the continent to reduce investors’ appetite for risk, as they raise numerous doubts about the pace of growth in the year that comes.
Germany began imposing this mandatory two-week second quarantine on travelers from the United Kingdom, days after France announced it would ban most travel to the UK or arriving from the country, at a time when the British set record for coronavirus infections.
In addition, the city of Paris announced on Saturday the cancellation of fireworks and concerts that were scheduled to take place during the New Year’s celebrations on Avenue Champs Elysées, the postcard of the French capital.
Even the World Economic Forum was postponed because of the omicron variant. The annual meeting would take place between January 17th and 21st of next year in Davos, and is now scheduled for the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere, which starts at the end of June.
On the domestic agenda, the highlight of the day was the release of the Focus report by BC (Central Bank). For the tenth time in a row, the market has reduced expectations for the growth of the Brazilian economy this year, slightly adjusting the accounts for inflation.
According to the survey, the Brazilian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) should grow 4.58% in 2021, compared to the expectation of a 4.65% increase in the previous week.
(With Reuters)
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