Circuit breaker triggered again as Ibovespa faces another plunge

The São Paulo Stock Exchange started off the week with sharp losses and had to resort to a circuit breaker in the first half hour of the day following measures by central banks to curb the damaging effects of the pandemic of the new coronavirus across the economies, with agents skeptical about the effectiveness of the efforts.

The Ibovespa index faced a decline of 12.53 percent to 72,321.99 before the circuit breaker was triggered for the fifth time in March. Trading was resumed at 10:55 am. The financial bulk up to that moment added up to $193.4 million.

Of all Ibovespa stocks, airlines suffered the toughest blow due to the impact of the pandemic on travel in addition to the increase in the dollar, with Azul down 27.56 percent and Gol 23.46 percent, before the circuit breaker halted trading.

On Friday, the spot index closed up 13.91 percent, on a day marked by a global recovery in markets.

Response

Azul on Monday (Mar. 16) reported that all international flights, except those from Campinas, São Paulo, have been suspended as of today.

“Even though our priority continues to be the health and safety of our crew members and clients, we are still focused on adjusting capacity according to changed demand and the protection of our cash position at this challenging moment,” said Azul CEO John Rodgerson.