Brazil's stock market fell on Friday as a slide in commodity prices weighed on oil company Petrobras and miner Vale, although shares of airlines TAM Linhas Aereas and Gol Linhas Aereas charged higher. Sao Paulo's main stock index, the Bovespa, fell 0.76 percent to 56,584.40 as a sell-off in oil inspired US stocks to rally.
On the stock exchange, state-run energy company Petrobras lost 0.92 percent to 33.55 reais as global crude prices sank more than 4 percent on concerns that a slowdown in economies in Asia and Europe will cut energy demand. Petrobras, due to report second-quarter earnings after the close of markets on Friday, agreed to buy Exxon Mobil's stake in a fuels distribution business in Chile for $400 million.
On Thursday the state-run oil giant announced a discovery of light oil in the Santos Basin, off the coast of Sao Paulo. "Petrobras' good news was overshadowed by the impact from the fall in oil prices," said Alvaro Bandeira, director of brokerage Agora.
Vale, the second-heaviest weighted stock in the Bovespa, fell 1.5 percent to 36.20 reais as copper prices dropped to the lowest in six months and other industrial metals also declined on demand concerns. But lower crude prices helped propel Brazilian airlines higher by easing concerns about profit margins.
Gol Linhas Aereas, Brazil's second-largest airline, jumped 5.08 percent to 16.77 reais, partially recovering from a slump of nearly 14 percent the previous session when it cut dividend payments for the rest of the year and reduced its fleet size. Larger rival TAM Linhas Aereas rose 3.64 percent to 34.15 reais.