Ibovespa falls 0.41% to mark first weekly loss since August

The Ibovespa fell 0.41% on Friday, September 18, to finish at 185,229.17 points, marking its first weekly decline since mid-August. Over the week, the Brazilian benchmark dropped 1.06%. The index recorded an intraday high of 185,991.47 points and a low of 184,460.91 points. Trading volume on the São Paulo exchange reached BRL 38.37 billion, supported by the expiration of stock options.

Investors tracked domestic election polling alongside monetary policy moves, including the recent Selic rate cut in Brazil and the first interest rate hike in the United States since 2023. A Datafolha poll released on September 17 showed President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva with 46% of voting intentions and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro with 44% in a potential second round, within the 2-percentage-point margin of error. Bruno Corano, economist and CEO of Corano Capital, noted that investors are recalibrating asset prices facing election uncertainty, fiscal concerns after an announced adjustment to Bolsa Família, and higher US Treasury yields.

Exchange data from B3 showed net foreign outflows on September 16, which reduced the accumulated monthly inflow for September to BRL 6.287 billion from BRL 7.251 billion on September 15. In external markets, US 10-year Treasury yields rose while the S&P 500 gained 0.17%, and Brent crude declined 0.91% to trade at $103.87 per barrel.

Sector performance across the B3 was led lower by basic materials and major lenders. Vale fell 1.53% and CSN dropped 6.40%. Santander Brasil dropped 3.47%, Itaú Unibanco fell 0.59%, and Bradesco lost 0.88%, while Banco do Brasil rose 1.84% and BTG Pactual gained 0.43%. Petrobras preferred shares slipped 0.23% and its common shares retreated 1.09%. On the upside, Minerva climbed 4.46% and Cyrela gained 3.86%, while MRV fell 3.68%.