Investing.com – Brazil equities were higher at the close on Friday, as gains in the Public Utilities, Electric Power and Financials sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in Sao Paulo, the Bovespa rose 0.51%.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Bovespa were Lojas Renner SA (SA:LREN3), which rose 4.20% or 1.10 points to trade at 27.30 at the close. CEMIG - Companhia Energetica Minas Gerais Pref (SA:CMIG4) added 3.87% or 0.38 points to end at 10.21 and Equatorial Energia SA (SA:EQTL3) was up 3.24% or 1.80 points to 57.40 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Metalurgica Gerdau SA (SA:GOAU4), which lost 4.01% or 0.21 points to trade at 5.03 in late trade. Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais (SA:USIM5) declined 2.88% or 0.12 points to end at 4.05 and Gerdau SA Pref (SA:GGBR4) shed 2.62% or 0.30 points to 11.15.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 183 to 177 and 27 ended unchanged on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Brazil Etf Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Bovespa options, was down 3.05% to 34.59.
In commodities trading, Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.19% or 2.35 to $1244.85 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 1.01% or 0.48 to hit $48.18 a barrel, while the May US coffee C contract fell 2.07% or 2.91 to trade at $137.57 .
USD/BRL was down 0.96% to 3.1103, while EUR/BRL fell 0.64% to 3.3605.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.05% at 99.51.