Brazil's stocks, currency fall on US economy woes

Fri Feb 15, 2008 9:58am EST
SAO PAULO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Brazil's stocks fell on Friday as investors sold blue-chips Vale and Petrobras on concerns that a U.S. economic slowdown and more credit losses at big U.S. banks would sap demand for emerging market securities.
The Bovespa index .BVSP of the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange fell 1.35 percent to 60,981.83 points, led by a drop at mining giant Vale after the company said its 2007 iron ore output was below its target.
Brazil's currency, the real BRBY, weakened 0.11 percent to 1.753 per dollar.
Economic indicators in the United States on Friday showed manufacturing in New York State fell to the weakest level since April 2003, while import prices data raised fears of a pickup in inflation.
Expectations that U.S. investment banks may have to announce more write-downs related to credit markets also help pushed the Dow Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq Composite index down by about 0.3 percent each, dragging Brazilian assets.
"We are tracking markets in the United States, where losses quickened at the end of trading yesterday," said Carlos Alberto Ribeiro, a director at the Novacao brokerage. "All eyes are really on markets abroad and on the profit taking."
Interest-rate futures <0#dij:> on the BM&F commodities and futures exchange in Sao Paulo rose, reflecting the downturn in local markets.
On the stock market, mining giant Vale (VALE5.SA: Quote, Profile, Research), the second most widely traded stock in Brazil, fell 1.48 percent to 46.72 reais. Vale said on Friday its iron ore output in 2007 rose 12 percent to 296 million tonnes, slightly lower than its target of 300 million tonnes for the year because of equipment problems and excessive rains.
State-controlled Petrobras (PETR4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research), the most heavily weighted stock in the Bovespa index, fell 0.81 percent to 82.85 reais
Low cost airline Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes (GOLL4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research) slumped 4.09 percent to 32.4 reais. The company said on Friday its fourth-quarter 2007 net income tumbled 60 percent to 76.96 million reais because of a surge in fuel and personnel costs and landing fees.
Grupo Pao de Acucar (PCAR4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research), Brazil's No. 2 retailer, fell 1.47 percent to 32.85 reais even after the company said late on Thursday same store net sales rose 5.8 percent in January, led by a surge in sales of electronic appliances.
(Reporting by Elzio Barreto and Claudia Pires, editing by Walker Simon)