FX.co ★ Ibovespa Flat Ahead of Central Bank Decisions and Earnings

The Ibovespa hovered around the flat 190,000 mark on Monday as investors positioned for a busy week of corporate earnings and key monetary policy decisions. Brazil’s central bank will announce its decision on Wednesday, with markets largely pricing in a 0.25 percentage point cut to the Selic rate, despite the recent acceleration in headline inflation. The US Federal Reserve, in turn, is expected to keep interest rates unchanged.

Globally, oil prices advanced amid stalled US–Iran peace talks, stoking inflation concerns and prompting investors to further discount the likelihood of rate cuts in developed economies this year. In Brazil’s equity market, major banks were little changed, with Bradesco and Banco do Brasil each edging up 0.2%. Petrobras rose 0.5% on the back of higher crude prices. Among corporates set to report results, Gerdau (+1%) will release earnings after today’s close, Vale (+0.1%) is scheduled to report on Tuesday, and WEG will publish its figures on Wednesday.