BRAZIL: Ibovespa Falls 2.6% Tracking Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Ibovespa, the benchmark stock index in Brazil, closed down 2.59% at 81,861.08 points Monday, tracking the sharp declines seen in Wall Street while investors reassess possible rate hikes in the United States after last Friday's labor market data in the U.S. showed increasing wages.

According to H. Commcor's chief operating officer, Ari Santos, the fall of more than 4% in the Dow Jones index has not been seen for some time and indicates that the "momentum for profit-taking the recent rally from world stock markets has begun."

Santos also points out that, on the domestic scene, the uncertainty of investors with the approval of the pension reform helps keep the index falling.

"Without the reform, there is nothing positive to make the market turn," said Pedro Galdi, an analyst at Magliano Corretora.

In the business field, Petrobras shares fell 4.65%, while Vale's shares, which stayed up all day, did not withstand selling pressure and closed down 1.1%.

The locally traded U.S. dollar consolidated its gains against the Brazilian real, tracking its performance in the foreign market, where the greenback rose against peers and emerging currencies, with investors seeking safer assets. The greenback rose by 1.02%, quoted at R$ 3.248.