2014.11.1923:00:45UTC+00Brazilian stocks advanced led by Gasifa as inflation slowed

Brazilian stocks rallied with the Ibovespa heading the advance among the largest equity markets across the board as inflation surprisingly slowed. Companies that depend on local demand surged on the news.

The Ibovespa Index climbed by 2.6% to 53,402.81 at the end of trade in Sao Paulo. From the year high in September, the index has already shed a total of 14%.

Gasifa lifted the index of BM&FBovespa Real Estate as the homebuilder added 7.1%. Estacio Participacoes SA hiked by 2.4% following the agreement to acquire Piaui Centro de Ensino Unificado de Teresina.

According to the national statistics agency, consumer prices rose short of analyst forecast to bring annual inflation back to its target range. Meanwhile, unemployment data for the month of October showed a decline of 4.7%, a record low for the month.

Analyst at Clear Corretora, Raphael Figueredo, commented to Bloomberg the things in Brazil may not be as bad as market participants thought. Figueredo adds that homebuilders are currently sensitive to the credit conditions that’s why positive news tend to spur them to outperform.

Over in the US, stocks retreated from record highs after the Federal Reserve minutes displayed policymakers concern for the slowing prices in the economy. The S&P 500 shed 0.15% or 3.08 points to 2,048.72 with energy leading the advancers and telecommunications being the biggest laggard among the gauge’s ten major industry groups. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down by 0.01% or 2.09 points to 17,685.73. Earlier, the gauge lost before rising 24 points following the release of Fed minutes before settling to its current level. Verizon Communications headed the blue-chip losses among 17 of the index’s 30 components. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.57% or 26.73 points to 4,675.71.