Brazilian stocks posted their first loss in four sessions on Friday as investors, worried by weaker-than-expected US jobs data, showed little appetite for risk. The benchmark Bovespa index declined 0.54 percent to 64,466.13, nonetheless off the day's lows, when the index dipped as much as 1.9 percent. US employers cut a deeper-than-expected 190,000 jobs in October, driving the country's unemployment rate to the highest since April 1983.
"The figures were really bad and dragged down the market," said Luiz Roberto Monteiro, financial adviser at the Souza Barros brokerage. But shares rallied later in the day on a combination of factors, said Alessandra Ribeiro, an economist with Tendencias consultancy in Sao Paulo. Continuing expectations of growth in Brazil over the coming year have drawn investors to the country, she noted.
In addition, she said, China is slated to release several economic indicators next week, including retail sales and industrial output. Investors could be anticipating strong showings from those numbers, too. On the stock market, widely traded shares Vale and Petrobras pulled the market lower as prices of commodities plunged on expectations a weak US economy would pressure demand for metals and energy. The 19-commodity Reuters Jefferies index shed 1.77 percent.
Mining giant Vale, the world's largest iron ore producer, fell 0.69 percent to 41.61 reais. Petrobras lost 0.96 percent to 36.05 reais as crude oil plunged 2.75 percent in New York on the US unemployment data. Shares of steelmaker Gerdau, banking giant Itau Unibanco and others that had rallied in recent days after positive third-quarter earnings also declined as investors took profits.
Gerdau was down 2.96 percent to 27.22 reais, after jumping 6.7 percent over three days, while Itau Unibanco declined 0.44 percent to 36.54 reais, reversing a three-day, 9.6 percent surge. Bucking the trend in the market, Lojas Americanas, the country's largest Internet retailer, added 7.29 percent to 12.95 reais. The company said late on Thursday its third-quarter net income soared to 36.5 million reais from 6.7 million reais a year earlier. A company official said on Friday that the retailer planned to open 400 new stores in Brazil over the next four years.
Gafisa, Brazil's second-largest real estate developer, rose 1.02 percent to 27.80 reais. The company said third-quarter profits more than doubled to 85.8 million reais, more than the 79 million reais average analyst forecast in a Reuters poll, on the back of a surge in sales.
Yields on Brazilian interest rate futures contracts edged lower as weak US jobs figures eased concern of a global recovery that could pressure commodity prices and stoke inflation. Investors use the contracts to bet on trends in Brazil's benchmark interest rate, the Selic, currently at 8.75 percent.
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