Key Facts
The Ibovespa closed at 173,714 points, a marginal drop of 0.06% as gains in oil giant Petrobras neutralised a sharp sell-off across the banking sector.
Petrobras shares jumped more than 2.5% providing crucial support to the index, with preferred shares alone moving R$257m in turnover.
Brazil’s big banks acted as the session’s main anchor led by a 1.4% slide in Itaú Unibanco and a 1.3% fall in Banco do Brasil.
The Brazilian real weakened slightly to R$5.1146 per US dollar a modest 0.07% dip that kept the currency inside its recent tight trading range.
