Investing.com – Brazil stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Public Utilities, Electric Power and Financials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in Sao Paulo, the Bovespa gained 0.16%.
The best performers of the session on the Bovespa were Marfrig Alimentos SA (SA:MRFG3), which rose 5.46% or 0.31 points to trade at 5.99 at the close. Meanwhile, Banco Santander Brasil SA (SA:SANB11) added 4.06% or 0.91 points to end at 23.33 and Equatorial Energia SA (SA:EQTL3) was up 3.46% or 1.75 points to 52.35 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Vale SA (SA:VALE3), which fell 4.57% or 0.85 points to trade at 17.75 at the close. Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais (SA:USIM5) declined 4.31% or 0.16 points to end at 3.55 and Hypermarcas SA (SA:HYPE3) was down 3.46% or 0.99 points to 27.59.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange by 177 to 150 and 31 ended unchanged.
The CBOE Brazil Etf Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Bovespa options, was down 1.46% to 35.01.
Gold for December delivery was up 0.39% or 4.95 to $1258.75 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November rose 0.46% or 0.23 to hit $50.41 a barrel, while the December US coffee C contract rose 0.24% or 0.37 to trade at $152.75 .
USD/BRL was down 0.64% to 3.1819, while EUR/BRL fell 0.21% to 3.5175.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.46% at 97.54.