LatinNews Daily - 20 August 2024

*The benchmark index (Ibovespa) of the São Paulo stock exchange (B3), Brazil’s main stock market, has closed the trading day on 19 August at 135,778 points, the highest nominal value on record. Economists and analysts consulted by Bora Investir, a news portal linked to B3, noted several international and domestic factors that could have contributed to the rise in the Ibovespa, such as the speculation about the US Federal Reserve beginning a cycle of rate cuts in the coming months. Among the domestic factors, Bora Investir highlighted a rise in the share price of Brazil’s largest mining company Vale and of the major Brazilian private bank Bradesco. The continued signals of a tight monetary policy direction in Brazil also contributed to the rise in market confidence, according to Bora Investir. The monetary policy director of the central bank (BCB), Gabriel Galípolo, widely considered a leading contender to assume the BCB presidency next year, was cited by the local press as saying at a business event in Belo Horizonte yesterday that the BCB would be open to raising Brazil’s benchmark interest rate if needed.