Investing.com – Brazil equities were higher at the close on Monday, as gains in the Public Utilities, Electric Power and Basic Materials sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in Sao Paulo, the Bovespa gained 0.05% to hit a new 3-month high.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Bovespa were Light SA (SA:LIGT3), which rose 5.71% or 0.81 points to trade at 15.00 at the close. Gafisa SA (SA:GFSA3) added 5.42% or 0.130 points to end at 2.530 and Petroleo Brasileiro SA (SA:PETR3) was up 4.99% or 0.59 points to 12.42 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Kroton Educacional SA (SA:KROT3), which lost 4.83% or 0.580 points to trade at 11.420 in late trade. Estacio Participacoes SA (SA:ESTC3) declined 3.74% or 0.76 points to end at 19.55 and Marfrig Alimentos SA (SA:MRFG3) shed 3.33% or 0.15 points to 4.35.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by 152 to 117 and 4 ended unchanged on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Brazil Etf Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Bovespa options, was up 1.16% to 34.85.
In commodities trading, Gold for June delivery was down 0.44% or 5.30 to $1199.30 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 0.73% or 0.38 to hit $52.02 a barrel, while the May US coffee C contract fell 0.74% or 1.00 to trade at $134.20 .
USD/BRL was up 1.61% to 3.1258, while EUR/BRL rose 1.30% to 3.3049.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.11% at 99.74.