The Ibovespa led gains among major stock benchmarks in the Americas on speculation that Henrique Meirelles, who led the central bank at a time of faster growth and slower inflation, would become finance minister in case President Dilma Rousseff is ousted.
The stock gauge extended this year’s surge to 21 percent after Brazil’s Vice President Michel Temer told O Globo newspaper that, if he had to assume a new government, Meirelles would be his finance chief. Lenders Banco Bradesco SA and Itau Unibanco Holding SA contributed the most to the Ibovespa’s advance. Oil producer Petroleo Brasileiro SA followed a rally in crude.
“In the past decade, Meirelles was able to tame inflation and cut interest rates,” said Adeodato Volpi Netto, the head of capital markets at Eleven Financial Research, in Sao Paulo. "His job in 2016 would be different. Still, if he is able to choose the other members of the economic team, the negotiation of the policies would run smoothly.”
The Ibovespa gained 0.9 percent to 52,306.18 at 11:37 a.m. in Sao Paulo, halting a three-day slide. This year’s rally sent its valuation to 13.4 times estimated earnings, or 14 percent above the multiple for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
