The Ibovespa edged down 0.3% early Friday, trading below 137,000 as investors await remarks from the Finance Minister and the central bank’s Economic Policy Director. Attention abroad focused on trade tensions and US PCE core inflation, which rose 2.7% year-over-year and 0.2% monthly, above expectations. Locally, Brazil’s jobless rate stood at 6.2% in the three months through May, better than the 6.4% forecast. Markets are also watching for the Treasury’s May Public Debt Report. Globally, sentiment was lifted by news of a US-China understanding to expedite Chinese rare earth shipments. On the corporate front, Petrobras fell 0.5%, while major banks dropped (Itaú -0.8%, Santander -1.4%), along with Eletrobras (-0.2%), Embraer (-1.2%), and meatpackers Minerva (-0.6%, Marfrig -1%). Vale rose 0.3%, and steelmakers traded mixed (CSN +0.5%, Gerdau -0.4%), as did retailers (Americanas +0.3%, Magazine Luiza -1.3%) .
