Brazil's stocks rose for a fourth session to a six-month high on Friday. The Bovespa index of the Sao Paulo stock exchange gained 1.5 percent to 44,390.98, after jumping 4.2 percent the previous session. The index has risen nearly 8 percent over four straight sessions.
At the Sao Paulo stock exchange, mining giant Vale rose 1.57 percent to 29.15 reais, leading the market higher as copper prices jumped more than 4 percent in New York to a five-month high. BM&F Bovespa, which operates the Sao Paulo stock and derivatives exchanges, gained 4.44 percent to 7.99 reais. Ativa brokerage started coverage of BM&F with a "buy" rating and a price target of 10.37 reais, on expectations of high growth potential.
State-run Petrobras fell 0.33 percent to 30.40 reais as oil prices declined in New York. Shares in ethanol companies soared after the president of Petrobras' biofuels subsidiary, Alan Kardec, confirmed the company's plans to buy minority stakes in ethanol makers.
Cosan jumped 12.2 percent to 12.34 reais, while sugar and ethanol producer Sao Martinho rose 13 percent to 14 reais. Brazil's stock market had its largest volume of net foreign investment inflows in March in nearly a year. Inflows totalled 1.44 billion reais last month, the largest since April 2008, when net inflows reached 6 billion reais.
"The inflow of foreign investors is making all the difference," said Ricardo Tadeu Martins, research manager at Planner brokerage. He said investors' appetite for emerging market assets was supported by positive sentiment after the G20 summit. World markets rallied on Thursday after global leaders agreed to a $1.1 trillion deal to help stimulate growth.
"Investors are still optimistic, but there are people already choosing to take profits because the issues that helped bring the market higher the past days have yet to be implemented," said Ernesto Leme, partner at Claritas Wealth Management. Brazil's currency, the real, strengthened 1.34 percent to 2.206 per dollar, adding to a 2 percent gain the previous session.
Yield spreads on Brazilian government overseas bonds over comparable US Treasuries, as measured by J.P. Morgan's EMBI+ index, fell sharply for a second session, reflecting higher appetite for Brazilian assets. The index showed the country's bond spread dropped by 28 basis points to 384. Spreads for emerging market bonds as a whole fell 27 basis points to 581. Interest rate futures contracts at the BM&F commodity and futures exchange were mixed.