Investing.com – Brazil equities were higher at the close on Friday, as gains in the Basic Materials, Industrials and Electric Power sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in Sao Paulo, the Bovespa rose 1.56% to hit a new 6-month high.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Bovespa were Metalurgica Gerdau SA (SA:GOAU4), which rose 8.37% or 0.22 points to trade at 2.85 at the close. Estacio Participacoes SA (SA:ESTC3) added 5.22% or 0.60 points to end at 12.10 and Gerdau SA (SA:GGBR4) was up 5.09% or 0.38 points to 7.85 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Oi SA (SA:OIBR3), which lost 4.44% or 0.04 points to trade at 0.86 in late trade. ALL America Latina Logistica SA (SA:RUMO3) declined 3.85% or 0.15 points to end at 3.75 and Cia Energetica de Sao Paulo (SA:CESP6) shed 2.34% or 0.38 points to 15.87.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 215 to 87 and 27 ended unchanged on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Brazil Etf Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Bovespa options, was up 5.76% to 55.43.
In commodities trading, Gold for June delivery was up 0.75% or 9.20 to $1235.70 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in May fell 2.55% or 1.06 to hit $40.44 a barrel, while the May US coffee C contract fell 0.11% or 0.13 to trade at $122.95 .
USD/BRL was up 1.68% to 3.5303, while EUR/BRL rose 1.60% to 3.9837.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.28% at 94.67.