The Ibovespa tumbled 3.3% to close at 183,104 on Tuesday, as a global flight from risk accelerated in the wake of the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader and strikes on key Gulf energy facilities. The index was down nearly 5% at its intraday low, before trimming losses after President Trump’s pledge to deploy naval escorts for tankers in the Strait of Hormuz eased oil prices off their session highs.
Even with that pullback in crude, the prospect of an energy‑driven inflation shock weighed heavily on expectations for further rate cuts by the BCB, punishing interest‑rate‑sensitive names. Major banks led the selloff: Itaúsa and Bradesco slid more than 4.3%, while Vale dropped 4.5% amid renewed concerns over global demand. Losses were steeper across the broader mining complex, with Gerdau and Bradespar sinking more than 5.7%.
On the macro front, Brazil’s GDP for 2025 expanded 2.3%, the weakest annual growth since the pandemic, while flat quarterly growth of just 0.1% in Q4 underscored a sharp loss of momentum. A few outliers managed to defy the broader risk-off mood: Braskem and Raízen each gained more than 2.7%. Still, markets remain dominated by regional turmoil and elevated credit costs.