São Paulo stocks fall on Vale, Petrobras dips but week closes higher

The São Paulo Stock Exchange experienced a 1.52% drop on Friday, primarily due to the decline in shares of the state-controlled oil company Petrobras and the mining giant Vale. Despite this daily dip, the benchmark Ibovespa index managed to close the week with a modest gain of 0.18%, bolstered by a rebound in commodity prices earlier in the week.

The Ibovespa, the main indicator for Latin America's largest stock market, ended the trading day at 174,041 points, marking its second consecutive day of decline. In the foreign exchange market, the Brazilian real showed little movement, experiencing a slight 0.06% decrease against the U.S. dollar. The dollar closed at 5.080 reais for both buying and selling in the commercial exchange rate. Over the course of the week, the dollar appreciated by 0.5% against the Brazilian currency.

Friday's trading session on the São Paulo exchange was significantly influenced by falling international prices for crude oil and iron ore. This downturn led to the depreciation of Petrobras and Vale's stocks, which are among the exchange's most significant components. The price of oil decreased following signals of potential diplomatic negotiations between the United States and Iran. Simultaneously, concerns about weak steel demand in China exerted downward pressure on the value of iron ore.

Ordinary shares of Petrobras depreciated by 2.36%, while its preferred shares fell by 1.72%, making them the second most traded stocks of the day. Mining giant Vale saw its ordinary shares decline by 0.58%. On the upside, gains were led by ordinary shares of the educational group YDUQS, which rose 3.05%, and those of the tour package company CVC, up 2.29%. Conversely, the energy company ISA saw the largest losses, with its shares dropping 7.16%, followed by Hapvida, an administrator of health plans, whose ordinary shares fell 5.25%. The São Paulo stock market recorded a financial volume of 16.477 billion reais (approximately $3.243 billion or €2.855 billion) on Friday, with over 2.6 million transactions.