Ibovespa opens in decline with Vale (VALE3) in the negative; Marfrig (MRFG3) leads gains after balance sheet, Petrobras (PETR4) rises and dollar advances

O Ibovespa opened this Thursday’s session (28) with a fall, and at around 10:20 am, the index fell 0.17%, to 127,473 points.

O Petroleum operates at highs of more than 1% this morning, while the Petrobras follows the bias: Petrobras ON (PETR3) rises 0.35% to R$ 37.50 and Petrobras PN (PETR4) increases 0.30% to R$ 36.66.

O iron ore closed down for the third consecutive day in Dalian, China. In this wake, the OK (VALE3) operates in the negative: -0.41% to R$60.32.

The biggest increase in Ibov is from Marfrig (MRFG3), +5.80% to R$9.67, after publishing the balance sheet. Casas Bahia (BHIA3), +2.87% at R$6.46 and Sabesp (SBSP3), +1.96% at R$84.92, complete the top-3.

On the negative side, Hapvida (HAPV3) leads the losses with -2.66% at R$3.66. Next come CVC (CVCB3), -1.98% at R$2.97 and Hypera (HYPE3), -1.80% at R$32.79.

On investors’ radar

In the last trading session of the week and month of March, investors are expected to operate with caution. One of the most anticipated data of the week comes out tomorrow, and concerns the PCE inflation index in the United States, the Federal Reserve’s preferred indicator for monitoring the rise of prices in the country.

This Thursday, the GDP of the United States was released, which showed a variation of 3.40% in the fourth quarter of 2023, above the consensus of 3.20%. Unemployment insurance claims reached 210 thousand in the week, compared to the consensus of 215 thousand.

Biggest highs and lows of Ibovespa

Dollar exchange rate

A dollar exchange rate today advances 0.17% to R$4.9954.

O Dolar today follows the rise in treasuries in the United States and reflects the rise in North American GDP in 4Q23.

Asian stock markets: China rises as sentiment improves

Asian stock markets closed without a single direction this Thursday (28), with the Chinese stock markets benefiting from an improvement in sentiment and the Tokyo market pressured by shares traded ex-dividend. The Australian secured a new historic high, before the Easter holidays.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite index rose 0.59% to 3,010.66 points, and the less comprehensive Shenzhen Composite advanced 1.72% to 1,732.61 points, as investors became more upbeat after the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, defend closer commercial ties with the USA, during a meeting yesterday with the main American business leaders in Beijing, and ensure that the second largest economy in the world has not yet reached its peak.

In a note to clients, Citi raised its forecast for the rise in China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year, from 4.6% to 5%, assessing that the Asian giant had a solid performance at the beginning of 2024, despite the continued weakness in the real estate sector and having been partially favored by the leap year effect.

The Hang Seng was also in the black today, rising 0.91% in Hong Kong, to 16,541.42 points, helped by technology shares.

On the other hand, the Japanese Nikkei fell 1.46% in Tokyo, to 40,168.07 points, on a day in which several shares were traded ex-dividend and amid uncertainty about possible intervention by the Japanese government in the foreign exchange market, after the yen hit almost 34-year lows against the dollar yesterday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.34% in Seoul, to 2,745.82 points, and Taiex gave up 0.27% in Taiwan, to 20,146.55 points.

In Oceania, the Australian stock market ended the first quarter at an all-time high. The S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.99% in Sydney, to an unprecedented level of 7,896.90 points, accumulating gains of 4% between January and March. Business in Australia will only resume on Tuesday (02), after the extended Easter holiday.