Ibovespa Plunges on Risk Aversion

2026-03-03 21:21 By Felipe Alarcon 1 min. read

The Ibovespa plunged 3.3% to close at 183,104 on Tuesday as a global flight from risk intensified following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader and strikes on Gulf energy hubs.

The index dived nearly 5% intraday before paring losses after President Trump’s pledge of naval escorts for tankers in the Strait of Hormuz pulled oil prices off their daily peaks.

Despite this reversal, the threat of an energy-driven inflationary shock weighed heavily on the BCB’s rate-cut outlook, hammering interest-sensitive sectors.

Major banks led the rout, with Itaúsa and Bradesco dropping over 4.3%, while Vale slid 4.5% on global demand fears.

The mining sector saw deeper pain as Gerdau and Bradespar fell more than 5.7%.

On the data front, Brazil’s 2025 GDP grew 2.3%, the slowest since the pandemic, with a stagnant 0.1% Q4 confirming a sharp loss of momentum.

While Braskem and Raízen bucked the trend with gains over 2.7%, the market remains gripped by regional chaos and high credit costs.



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