Brazil's stock market tracked Wall Street lower and broke a four-day winning streak on Friday. The Bovespa index of the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange fell 0.96 percent to 60,465.06 points but still managed to post its strongest monthly performance in September since January 2006.
The Bovespa's positive performance has attracted foreign investments, which pushed the index to its highest level ever on Thursday, when it crossed the 61,000-mark. The index, which has advanced about 37 percent in 2007, rose to four straight record highs this week.
Interest rate futures on the BM&F futures exchange in Sao Paulo fell, reflecting optimism about the economy and expectations that interest rates will fall. Iron ore miner CVRD, the second-heaviest weighted stock in the Bovespa index, fell 1.51 percent to 52.20 reais as copper prices in New York eased.
State-controlled Oil Company Petrobras, the heaviest-weighted stock in the index, dropped 1.91 percent to 59.20 reais, as international oil prices fell from near-record highs on profit-taking. Brazil's currency, the real, strengthened 0.49 percent to 1.835 per dollar, its strongest level since September 2000.