Investing.com – Brazil equities were higher at the close on Friday, as gains in the Electric Power, Public Utilities and Financials sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in Sao Paulo, the Bovespa added 0.14% to hit a new 6-month high.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Bovespa were Cia Paranaense de Energia (SA:CPLE6), which rose 8.92% or 2.34 points to trade at 28.58 at the close. Cia Energetica de Minas Gerais (SA:CMIG4) added 7.69% or 0.55 points to end at 7.70 and Banco do Brasil SA (SA:BBAS3) was up 6.28% or 1.35 points to 22.85 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Oi SA (SA:OIBR3), which lost 10.17% or 0.12 points to trade at 1.06 in late trade. Estacio Participacoes SA (SA:ESTC3) declined 9.57% or 1.46 points to end at 13.79 and ALL America Latina Logistica SA (SA:RUMO3) shed 6.56% or 0.25 points to 3.56.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 165 to 152 and 25 ended unchanged on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Brazil Etf Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Bovespa options, was down 1.18% to 51.17.
In commodities trading, Gold for April delivery was down 1.73% or 22.00 to $1250.80 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 1.85% or 0.70 to hit $38.54 a barrel, while the May US coffee C contract rose 2.99% or 3.66 to trade at $125.88 .
USD/BRL was down 1.09% to 3.5817, while EUR/BRL fell 1.32% to 3.9945.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.04% at 96.23.