Brazil’s Stocks Rise as Vale Gain Offsets Interest-Rate Outlook
- Steelmaker Metalurgica Gerdau is also among biggest gainers
- Consumer stocks drop on signal of cautious monetary policy
The Ibovespa held at its highest level in more than four years as miner Vale SA rallied on record iron-ore output, outweighing a drop among consumer stocks after Brazil’s central bank signaled that it will take a cautious approach to monetary policy.
Vale contributed the most to the benchmark equity index’s gains Thursday afternoon, while steelmaker Metalurgica Gerdau SA climbed to the highest in one month. For-profit college manager Kroton Educacional SA was among the worst performers on the gauge after the monetary authority decided Wednesday to cut the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage point to 14 percent. That was in line with the forecasts of 36 out of 59 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Twenty-one economists predicted a 0.50 percentage-point reduction.