Brazil stocks seesaw, currency gains in thin trade
SAO PAULO, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Brazil's stocks crept higher on Thursday in a volatile session, while the local currency marched to a fourth straight day of gains in thin trading.
The Sao Paulo Stock Exchange's benchmark Bovespa index .BVSP was up 0.09 percent at 36,503.3 points after seesawing in and out of negative territory earlier in the session.
With U.S. markets closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, trading volume in the Brazilian stock market is expected to be muted throughout the session, which can bring a lot of swings in the index.
State-run oil firm Petrobras (PETR4.SA), the heaviest weighted stock in the Bovespa index, fell 1.07 percent to 20.30 reais, and mining-giant Vale (VALE5.SA) edged up 0.70 percent to 24.60 reais a share.
TIM Brasil (TCSL4.SA), as the Brazilian unit of Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) is known, jumped 7.75 percent to 4.17 reais following strong gains on Wednesday, when an Italian newspaper reported that Telecom Italia was considering selling TIM Brasil to its Spanish partner Telefonica (TEF.MC).
The company said it will not comment on market rumors.
Shares in Sadia SDIA4.SA, Brazil's leading processed foods company, were also up as much as 5.06 percent at 3.56 reais as speculation swirled that it might become a takeover target.
The company sent a statement to the Brazilian securities and exchange commission denying media reports on the subject.
In the foreign exchange market, the Brazilian real (BRBY) gained 1.14 percent to 2.250 per dollar after jumping more than 2 percent early in the day. The real has gained 8 percent in the last three sessions.
The volume of trade was also low and investors were expecting some volatility in the currency market.
"The forex market is illiquid right now ... so you can have some distortions," said Gerson de Nobrega, treasury desk manager at Banco Alfa in Sao Paulo.
Interest-rate futures <O#DIJ:> at the BM&F commodities and futures exchange in Sao Paulo were mixed as data showed inflation in Brazil was lower than expected in November but still relatively high on an annual basis.
Brazil's broadest inflation measure, the IGP-M index, rose only 0.38 percent in November after a 0.98 percent jump in the previous month. But it has clocked a cumulative rise of 9.95 percent since the start of the year and 11.88 percent in the 12 months to November. (Reporting by Aluisio Alves and Jenifer Correa; Writing by Renato Andrade; Editing by Dan Grebler)
