RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Sao Paulo Stock Exchange registered positive annual results for the third consecutive year, with the main indicator Ibovespa rising 15.03 percent in 2018, reaching 87,887 points on the last trading day of the year.
On Friday, the Ibovespa rose 2.84 percent. In December, the indicator fell 1.9 percent.
The annual rise was achieved despite the significant volatility of the Brazilian market amid the general elections and a troubled global scenario. In 2017, the Ibovespa rose 26.8 percent, and in the previous year, 38.9 percent.
The stocks of Brazil's state-controlled oil and gas giant Petrobras, one of the exchange's blue chips, rose significantly in 2018. Common shares were up 51.4 percent, while preferred shares rose 45.9 percent.
However, the highlight of the year was the weapons and ammunition company Taurus, whose common stocks rose 180 percent amid speculations that the government of Jair Bolsonaro, who will take office as president on Tuesday, plans to relax gun control regulations. Preferred stocks were up 130 percent this year.
The Brazilian currency, on the other hand, registered significant devaluation in 2018. The Brazilian real-U.S. dollar exchange rate closed at 3.87 reals per dollar, with an accumulated 16.9 percent devaluation of the Brazilian currency in 2018.
