Ibovespa runs aimlessly and is stopped by the Federal Reserve; Eletrobras sink by Reuters

Written by Andre Roman

São Paulo (Reuters) – The market operated between gains and losses on Wednesday, as the market awaited the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy decision in the afternoon, followed by a statement by the institution’s president, Jerome Powell.

The session, which may already be volatile due to the Fed, is also for the expiration of options in Ibovespa.

Additionally, corporate news moves stocks with appropriate weight in the index, such as slaughterhouses and Eletrobras, which have collapsed after another setback in the privatization process.

At 11:08 am, the Ibovespa index was down 0.1% at 106,652.53 points. The financial volume amounted to 4.7 billion riyals.

Global markets face the Fed’s monetary policy decision two days after the meeting. The US central bank is expected to indicate an acceleration of between $25 billion and $30 billion in the pace of asset purchases, which currently stands at $15 billion, and an early start to raise interest rates. A Reuters poll of economists points to the first rise in the third quarter of 2022.

The day before, a higher-than-expected producer price index in the US repeated bets on a tougher stance by the Federal Reserve and sent stocks lower, as withdrawing stimulus means less liquidity for global markets.

The statement containing the decision will be released at 4 p.m. and Powell will speak in a half hour. US stock futures traded without clear guidance, despite an intraday improvement after US retail sales data came in less than expected in November.

“The market is on hold for the Fed,” says Antonio Carlos Pedrolin, head of the variable income schedule at Blue3. “This is what the market is really reacting to today,” he adds.

In Brazil, investors are digesting the result of the IBC-Br economic activity index, another macroeconomic data that disappointed market expectations.

The index fell 0.40% in October compared to September, with seasonally adjusted data, the central bank reported on Wednesday, compared to a 0.20% drop analysts had expected.

In politics, the Chamber of Deputies in the first round approved the main text of the new PEC dos Precatório. The market is also watching news about the new variant of Micron for Covid-19.

Highlights

– ELETROBRAS ON (SA 🙂 collapsed at 9.4% and sank PN 8.7%, after Minister Vital do Rêgo, Federal Court of Auditors, indicated his intention to seek opinions on the privatization process being judged in the court’s plenary session. This Wednesday, TCU will appreciate the first phase of the company’s privatization process.

– JBS ON (SA 🙂 rose 3.3% and MINERVA ON (SA 🙂 rose 8%, after the Chinese Customs Administration announced that product imports from Brazil would resume. MARFRIG ON (SA 🙂 cut the initial increase and traded 0.9%. Brazil has halted shipments to China, its main customer, after unusual cases of “mad cow disease” were confirmed in early September. Shares in both companies jumped the day before.

– ENEVA ON rose 4.8% and FOCUS ENERGIA ON, which is not included in Ibovespa, rose 5.9%, after the companies announced an agreement to establish Focus by Eneva (SA :). The transaction involves the payment of 715 million riyals in cash by Eneva. The focus will be removed, with the consequent transition of the shareholder base to Eneva.

– LOCALIZA ON (SA:) stock rose 3% and UNIDAS rose 3.5%. The business merger between the two companies is being judged by the Court of Economic Defense Administrative Council this Wednesday. Kidd’s public watchdog had already recommended approval of the deal in September, with the adoption of solutions that mitigate competitive risks.

– Petrobras ON (SA 🙂 PN fell 0.9% each, following the decline in .

– MÉLIUZ ON up 4.6% and BRASKEM PN (SA: SA :), up 3.1% were other notable bullish points.

– DEXCO ON stock fell 3.1% in an ex-dividend trading session, and BANCO DO stock fell Brussels ON (SA 🙂 yielded 2.6%.

(Alberto Allergie Jr.)