The Ibovespa, Brazil’s main stock market index, was increasing on Friday afternoon as investors responded to the slightly lower-than-expected GDP figures for the last quarter of 2024.
Around 13:16, the index reached a peak of 1.09%, at 124,698 points, in Brasilia time.
The commercial dollar increased by 0.18%, reaching R$ 5.7745.
Brazil’s GDP increased by 0.2% in the last quarter of 2024, falling short of the anticipated 0.4% to 0.5% growth. The overall growth for 2024 was 3.4%, which was also lower than expected.
Ibovespa is impacted by the U.S. labor market, in addition to GDP. In February, the labor market added 151,000 jobs based on Payroll data. Despite falling short of expectations, this indicates a strong labor market, suggesting that the Federal Reserve is likely to maintain the current interest rate in the upcoming meeting.
Ibovespa rises amid speculation about the Federal Reserve’s future actions.
Payroll information supports predictions that the Federal Reserve should hold off on lowering the US benchmark interest rate until June.
Analysts are forecasting three interest rate cuts by the end of 2025 based on labor market data. Prior to this report, the anticipated cuts were expected in May. Investors are also monitoring discussions about the conclusion of the conflict in Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump is seriously contemplating imposing sanctions on the Russian banking sector until a peace deal is achieved.
United States of America
US scholarships were fluctuating due to uncertainties surrounding Trump’s policies, while investors were also responding to Payroll data indicating a steady labor market with job creation below expectations, high unemployment at 4.1%, and a decrease in participation to 62.4%.
US Index Quote:
Dow Jones dropped by 0.56%.
S&P 500 dropped by 0.70%.
Nasdaq fell by 0.81%.
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