B3, the main index of the Brazilian stock exchange, ended this Friday (20) in decline, despite having shown signs of recovery throughout the day.
Bovespa has its worst weekly performance since October 10, 2008, with a cumulative drop of 18,88%. This represents a drop of approximately 40% in 2020.
With the expectation of a global recession, even with stimulus from central banks and governments, fear of the impacts on the economy due to the coronavirus pandemic invariably takes over the market.
The Ibovespa fell 1.85% to 67,069 points. At its lowest point of the day, the index hit 72,247 points. It's simply the worst weekly performance since the US financial crisis, according to Economatica.
Other information
The dollar closed lower, however, still above R$ 5.
Both Azul (+15.29) and Gol (+16.48%) saw growth, managing to recover part of the recent sharp declines. Embraer (-12.95%) and Sabesp (-11.83%) showed the biggest declines this Friday.
Last Thursday (20), the Ibovespa closed up 2.15%, at 68,331 points. A truce in the recent strong falls, which saw the index reach its lowest intraday since July 2017 earlier in the session that preceded it.
World and national scenario
The Brazilian federal government revised and reduced its projection for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth this year in less than ten days. After updating its forecast from 2.4% to 2.1%, it lowered its estimate again, projecting growth of just 0.02% for this year. This signifies stability.
Among the measures announced the day before, the government said it plans to provide assistance to workers earning up to two times the minimum wage and who are affected by the reduction in working hours and wages proposed this week by the federal government. It also announced that it intends to pay for the first 15 days of sick leave if the worker has contracted the coronavirus.
See also: GDP forecast drops to 0.02% in 2020 and government announces measures.