The Ibovespa fell 1.5%, slipping below 176,000 on Friday as investors reacted to growing political turbulence following reports linking Senator Flávio Bolsonaro to former Banco Master owner Daniel Vorcaro. Allies of the presidential hopeful moved to play down Bolsonaro’s relationship with Vorcaro — who is imprisoned on multiple criminal charges — as the revelations threatened to weaken his prospects in the October election.
Externally, markets remained focused on uncertainty surrounding a potential Middle East peace agreement and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices climbed amid the lack of concrete progress toward halting ship attacks and seizures in the region, intensifying concerns about stagflation.
In the corporate sphere, major banks retreated, with Itaú and Bradesco both losing more than 1%. Utilities also traded lower, led by Sabesp (-2.5%) and Azzas (-2%). Eneva dropped nearly 3% despite reporting strong first-quarter results. Among blue chips, Vale slid 2.6% and WEG declined 1.6%, while Petrobras advanced nearly 1% on the back of higher oil prices.
