By Carla Mozee
Brazilian stocks climbed Wednesday, with investors returning to
the market after a holiday break to find data about economic
improvement in the U.S. and nerves somewhat calmed over the debt
troubles plaguing Greece.
Brazil's Bovespa rose 2.2% to 67,284.57, its best finish in
nearly a month.
Consumer discretionary, manufacturing and mining stocks were
among the best performers during the session, led by a 5.8% jump in
shares of brewer AmBev (ABV).
Shares of MMX Mineracao e Metalicos, the steel producer whose
controlling shareholder is billionaire Eike Batista, led advancers
among steel stocks, rising 5.4%, while shares of iron ore
heavyweight Vale (RIO) climbed 3.6%.
Elsewhere, shares of pulp and paper producer Fibria Celulose
(FBR) rose 4.1% and oil giant Petrobras (PBR) rose 1.3% as oil
prices picked up 0.4% to $77.33 a barrel despite a stronger U.S.
dollar against the euro. A stronger greenback tends to put downward
pressure on dollar-denominated commodity prices. Oil prices jumped
4% in the previous session.
Equity decliners on Wednesday were mostly concentrated in the
telecom group, with shares of Oi (TNE) down 1.1% and wireless
services provider Vivo (VIV) down 0.9%.
Trading in Sao Paulo was closed on Monday and Tuesday in
observance of the Carnival holiday.
Investors had to play catch-up to news earlier this week that
the European Union has given Greece one month to show that its
moves to ease its fiscal troubles are working. European finance
ministers have told Greece that if its plans do not bear fruit,
they will impose tougher budget cuts.
That development appeared to soothe equities on Wall Street and
in emerging markets, which have been hurt in recent weeks on
concerns that problems in Greece will damage conditions within the
E.U.
Investors also returned to reports from the U.S. that housing
starts rose to their highest level in seven months, while the
prices of goods imported into the United States jumped 1.4% in
January. Output from U.S. factories, mines and utilities also rose
0.9% last month.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX) rose 0.4% and the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJI) rose 40 points to 10,309, following
rallies on Tuesday.
Investors in Brazilian assets on Wednesday also assessed a
survey that showed economists and analysts have, on average, pushed
up their inflation expectations for the year. In a weekly survey
released by the Brazilian central bank, analysts now expect the key
inflation index to rise to 5.47%, compared with the previous
forecast of 5.35%.
The government's inflation target is 4.5%.
Mexican stocks finished higher, leaving the IPC index up 0.9% at
31,892.12. Argentina's Merval rose 0.8% to 2,325.75 and Chile's
IPSA closed up 1.1% to 3,860.71.