Investing.com – Brazil equities were higher at the close on Friday, as gains in the Public Utilities, Basic Materials and Electric Power sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in Sao Paulo, the Bovespa rose 0.25%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Bovespa were Estacio Participacoes SA (SA:ESTC3), which rose 4.00% or 1.24 points to trade at 32.23 at the close. Metalurgica Gerdau SA (SA:GOAU4) added 3.62% or 0.20 points to end at 5.73 and Klabin Unt (SA:KLBN11) was up 2.82% or 0.48 points to 17.50 in late trade.
Biggest losers included RUMO Logistica Operadora Multimodal SA (SA:RAIL3), which lost 2.07% or 0.24 points to trade at 11.33 in late trade. Marfrig Alimentos SA (SA:MRFG3) declined 1.60% or 0.11 points to end at 6.75 and Petroleo Brasileiro SA (SA:PETR3) shed 1.58% or 0.25 points to 15.56.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 230 to 196 and 44 ended unchanged on the BM&FBovespa Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Brazil Etf Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Bovespa options, was down 10.91% to 26.22 a new 3-month low.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.11% or 1.40 to $1258.50 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 0.42% or 0.24 to hit $57.28 a barrel, while the March US coffee C contract rose 0.37% or 0.45 to trade at $120.67 .
USD/BRL was down 1.40% to 3.2950, while EUR/BRL fell 1.57% to 3.8747.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.32% at 93.94.