Brazil shares higher at close of trade; Bovespa up 0.25%

Investing.com – Brazil equities were higher at the close on Friday, as gains in the Public Utilities , Basic Materials and Electric Power sectors propelled shares higher.

At the close in Sao Paulo, the Bovespa rose 0.25%.

The biggest gainers of the session on the Bovespa were Estacio Participacoes SA (SA: ESTC3 ), which rose 4.00% or 1.24 points to trade at 32.23 at the close. Metalurgica Gerdau SA (SA: GOAU4 ) added 3.62% or 0.20 points to end at 5.73 and Klabin Unt (SA: KLBN11 ) was up 2.82% or 0.48 points to 17.50 in late trade.

Biggest losers included RUMO Logistica Operadora Multimodal SA (SA: RAIL3 ), which lost 2.07% or 0.24 points to trade at 11.33 in late trade. Marfrig Alimentos SA (SA: MRFG3 ) declined 1.60% or 0.11 points to end at 6.75 and Petroleo Brasileiro SA (SA: PETR3 ) shed 1.58% or 0.25 points to 15.56.

Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 230 to 196 and 44 ended unchanged on the BM&FBovespa Stock Exchange.

The CBOE Brazil Etf Volatility , which measures the implied volatility of Bovespa options, was down 10.91% to 26.22 a new 3-month low.

In commodities trading, Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.11% or 1.40 to $1258.50 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in January rose 0.42% or 0.24 to hit $57.28 a barrel, while the March US coffee C contract rose 0.37% or 0.45 to trade at $120.67 .

USD/BRL was down 1.40% to 3.2950, while EUR/BRL fell 1.57% to 3.8747.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.32% at 93.94.