Brazil shares end
Reuters, Friday, September 18, 1998 at 18:21
Dollar outflows slowed to $207 million Thursday and were
seen up at $450 million Friday, still way down when compared to
the $1.5 billion a day that had been hemorrhaging from Brazil's
commerical and floating currency markets last week.
Traders said they were hoping for a bit of a breather on
the international scene in order to focus on Telebras and the
12 spin-off companies --that are to start listing Monday--
formed when the teleco was privatized in July y.
"We could see the Telebras holding go shooting up while
companies in the north and northeast go down," one trader said.
"The rest depends on how the Dow behaves."
SAO PAULO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Brazilian shares closed
Friday in positive territory as dollar flight slowed after a
bumpy week where the market was jolted up and down by news of
possible international assistance for the battered economy.
Telebras shares led the march upward Friday as investors
covered positions with an easing of dollar outflows giving
confidence. "Few investors want to risk being short next week
because we don't know what's going to happen and they're
supporting the Telebras price," one trader said.
Sao Paulo's key Bovespa (INDEX:$BVSP.X) index surged in late trade
to close 4.31 percent higher at 6,710 points.
Telebras (SAO:TELB4) preferred surged up 5.23 percent to
86.50 reais at the close, but still well down from the 144.50
reais the shares were trading at the day after privatization.
On Monday, they will be exchanged in a 12-for-one swap for
each of the spin-off companies. Traders said they expected a
flurry of trading as investors dumped unpopular spin-offs for
the favored three fixed-line companies and the two cellular
operators serving Brazil's biggest cities.
Analysts said it could all be a storm in a teacup if
Brazil's economic picture did not measurably brighten. "Every
time I mention Telebras and which companies are good buys,
investors say 'but it's in Brazil'...They just want to talk
about the economy," one analyst at a foreign bank said.
Brazil's other blue-chip shares also closed Friday with
gains, although the battered Bovespa index was still down 33
percent since the start of the year.
Petrobras (SAO:PETR4) preferred ended up 3.91 percent at
119.50 reais, while Vale do Rio Doce (SAO:VALE5) was 3.78
percent higher at 19.20 and Eletrobras (SAO:ELET6) was up 1.65
percent at 24.60.
Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service |
