Dollar closes at R$5.115 awaiting Fed; Casas Bahia soars on the Stock Exchange

The dollar closed stable, with a slight drop of 0.03%, this Monday (29), quoted at R$5.115, while investors continued to wait for the Fed’s monetary policy decision (Federal Reserve; Central Bank of the United States) .

Ibovespa closed the day with a slight increase of 0.65%, at 127,351.79 points. The highlight on the Stock Exchange is the jump in Casas Bahia’s shares, soaring to more than 31%, after the company filed a request for extrajudicial recovery for debts totaling R$4.1 billion.

The value of the dollar reported daily by the press, including the UOL, refers to the commercial dollar (learn more by clicking here). For those who are going to travel and need to buy currency at exchange brokers, the reference is the tourist dollar, and the value is much higher.

What happened

The market awaits the release of data by the US central bank. On Wednesday (1st) — when it will be a holiday in Brazil — the Fed will probably maintain its basic interest rate, and traders will be attentive to the central bank’s tone regarding the possibility and timing of interest cuts.

Recently, a series of stronger than expected data postponed market expectations about the timing of the first interest rate cut in the US. Bets that were previously concentrated in March were moved to May, then June and July and, currently, are concentrated between September, November and December. Higher interest rates in the US play in favor of the dollar, as they make US yields more attractive to foreign investors.

On Friday (3), the US non-agricultural employment report will come into the focus of investors. This data can provide more clues about the health of the economy and the need for interest rate cuts.

Investors are also aware of possible intervention by Japanese authorities in the foreign exchange market. The Japanese yen surged sharply against the dollar on Monday, with traders citing heavy dollar-selling intervention by Japanese banks for the first time in 18 months, after the yen hit new 34-year lows earlier in the day.

Casas Bahia stands out on the day with a 31.99% jump in shares following a request for extrajudicial recovery. The increase comes after the company announced on Sunday night (28) that it made the request, citing debts of R$4.1 billion and that it already has the support of Bradesco and Banco do Brasil, its main creditors. The company said the plan does not involve operational debts with suppliers and partners and does not impact workers or customers.

(With Estadão Conteúdo and Reuters)