Brazil shrs sink more,near circuit-breaker trigger
Reuters, Thursday, September 10, 1998 at 13:29
SAO PAULO, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Investor worries that more
dollars would leave Brazil's financial markets put the
country's blue-chip stocks under intense pressure and the key
Bovespa index (INDEX:$BVSP.X) sank 13 percent in early afternoon trade,
brokers said.
The Bovespa was down 13.32 percent at 4,902 points by 1350
local/1650 gmt, nearing the 15-percent decline threshold when
the bourse activates its market circuit breaker, halting trade
for an hour.
The circuit breaker had gone off once earlier when the
Bovespa fell 10 percent, suspending trade for 30 minutes.
"Everybody everywhere is so pessimistic. I'm betting on
another circuit breaker today," said one local trader.
News that a massive $1.142 billion fled the country through
foreign exchange markets on Wednesday despite a string of
government measures to cap the outflow was on all investors'
minds, the trader said.
The Central Bank said the country's foreign currency
reserves now stood at $55 billion.
In the local currency market, the real was glued to the
1.1790 level after dealers spotted the Central Bank selling
dollars through state-owned Banco do Brasil.
noriko.yamaguchi@reuters.com))
Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service |
