The Ibovespa slipped roughly 0.5% to below 184,000 points on Friday, pressured mainly by losses in the energy sector. Oil prices retreated amid reports that the United States and Iran were discussing a potential agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease the US blockade on Iranian ports. Petrobras declined more than 1%, while Prio lost nearly 2%.
The drop in oil prices provided some relief to credit-sensitive sectors that had been under strain from concerns about energy-driven inflation. Even so, gains were capped after Brazil’s mid-month inflation reading came in above market expectations. Financial stocks edged higher.
Utilities also advanced. Axia added more than 1% after approving an additional capital allocation of up to R$4 billion, linked to its second-quarter results, for the redemption of Class C preferred shares. Magazine Luiza climbed nearly 3% after S&P reaffirmed its brAA- credit rating. WEG was little changed, despite announcing an expansion of its project to build a new battery energy storage systems plant in southern Brazil.
