São Paulo stock exchange rises 5.4% in a week with Brazil’s election one month away

Brazil’s benchmark stock index rose 5.4% over the week as polls showed a technical tie between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, one month before the presidential election.

The Ibovespa ended Friday at 185,147 points after slipping 0.02% during the session. The Brazilian real weakened 0.50% against the dollar, which closed at 5.129 reais for buying and 5.130 for selling in the commercial exchange market.

Investors have been following the presidential race closely. Bolsonaro, whose more liberal economic positions have made him the market’s preferred candidate, has gained ground in recent weeks and reached a technical tie with Lula in a possible runoff.

The week also brought economic growth data showing that Brazil’s economy expanded 0.5% in the second quarter. The figure beat analysts’ expectations but pointed to a slowdown.

Shares in state oil company Petrobras, among the most actively traded stocks, fell 0.9%. Meliuz dropped 4.2% and energy company Brava declined 4.1%, while vehicle-rental platform Automob gained 5.4% and travel agency CVC rose 5%. Trading totaled about 25.064 billion reais, or roughly $4.88 billion, across around 3.6 million transactions.