Investing.com – Brazil equities were higher at the close on Thursday, as gains in the Public Utilities, Electric Power and Basic Materials sectors propelled shares higher.
At the close in Sao Paulo, the Bovespa gained 0.91% to hit a new 52-week high.
The biggest gainers of the session on the Bovespa were Braskem SA (SA:BRKM5), which rose 10.80% or 1.98 points to trade at 20.31 at the close. Gerdau SA (SA:GGBR4) added 5.10% or 0.40 points to end at 8.25 and Cia Energetica de Minas Gerais (SA:CMIG4) was up 4.54% or 0.42 points to 9.67 in late trade.
Biggest losers included Suzano Papel e Celulose SA (SA:SUZB5), which lost 4.63% or 0.46 points to trade at 9.48 in late trade. Estacio Participacoes SA (SA:ESTC3) declined 4.58% or 0.81 points to end at 16.89 and Fibria Celulose SA (SA:FIBR3) shed 3.01% or 0.58 points to 18.66.
Advancing stocks outnumbered falling ones by 169 to 126 and 15 ended unchanged on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange.
The CBOE Brazil Etf Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Bovespa options, was up 0.82% to 33.30.
In commodities trading, Gold for December delivery was up 0.18% or 2.45 to $1367.15 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 2.40% or 0.98 to hit $41.81 a barrel, while the September US coffee C contract rose 1.07% or 1.50 to trade at $141.88 .
USD/BRL was down 1.34% to 3.1948, while EUR/BRL fell 1.54% to 3.5556.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.27% at 95.75.