SAO PAULO: Brazilian stocks snapped a four-day rally on Thursday as shares of oil companies Petrobras and OGX dropped on debt concerns, while the troubled homebuilders sector weighed on Mexico's IPC index.
Brazil's benchmark Bovespa stock index fell 1.4 percent to 55,400.91 points, as analysts voiced concern that closer scrutiny of Brazilian companies and macroeconomic data was putting investors off.
"Brazil has been on an opposite path from international markets recently and today it showed that trend again," said Fabio Goncalves, a trader with Banrisul Corretora in Porto Alegre, Brazil. "We are returning the gains made in recent days, with investors shorting the index futures."
Shares of state-run oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA , known as Petrobras, slipped 2.33 percent.
The company said on Wednesday that it would borrow $20 billion in 2013, 63 percent above its planned five-year average, as stagnant revenue and fuel subsidies increase the need for debt to finance investment.
Rival oil producer OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA , controlled by billionaire Eike Batista, dropped 6.41 percent after Deutsche Bank Securities analysts cut their price target for the stock, warning that the oil producer could soon see its debt surpass the value of recoverable assets.
Shares of iron ore mining firm Vale traded 1.52 percent lower, a day after Brazil's Supreme Court declared a partial end to double taxation of foreign units of Brazilian companies.
Vale called the split decision a "victory" in its $15 billion tax dispute with the government, though some analysts said the ruling continues to leave key issues unresolved.
Mexico's IPC index was flat, closing at 44,408.43 as shares of bottler Femsa fell 0.61 percent, driving losses in the index.
Mexico's troubled homebuilders, which have struggled as a new government social housing policy shifts toward vertical building and away from out-of-town settlements that make up the bulk of their asset holdings, also suffered.
Homex lost 6.12 percent after it announced it had taken out a loan, a signal the market took to mean the company was in trouble, while Urbi fell 1.34 percent after the company hired Rothschild as a financial adviser.
Comments
Comments are closed.