Eike's wave causes OGX to rise 12% in trading session.
It wasn't due to the results or the discovery of oil, but because of a rumor about the sale of a significant portion of the company to a Malaysian company.
By Danielle Assalve
SAO PAULO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The main stock index of the Bovespa erased losses in the final adjustments of trading this Thursday, boosted by a jump of almost 12 percent in the oil company OGX.
According to traders, rumors that billionaire Eike Batista was negotiating the sale of a stake in OGX to Petronas of Malaysia caused the stock to rise 11,8 percent, to 3,60 reais -- the biggest daily closing increase since July 2012.
Contacted by Reuters, OGX stated that it does not comment on market rumors.
With the surge in the oil company's shares, the Ibovespa closed the trading session with a negative variation of 0,04 percent, at 56.154 points. The financial turnover of the stock exchange was 8,3 billion reais, above the daily average of 2013.
The index spent virtually the entire trading session in negative territory, falling as much as 1,3 percent at its intraday low, pressured by a scenario of increased risk aversion abroad.
Weak economic indicators from the eurozone and the United States released on Thursday renewed fears about the prospects for a recovery in global activity, weighing on major stock markets.
Investors also continued to show caution regarding the possibility that the Federal Reserve, the US central bank, might reduce or even halt its asset purchase program sooner than expected.
In New York, the Dow Jones index fell 0,34 percent, the S&P 500 dropped 0,63 percent, and the Nasdaq lost 1,04 percent. Earlier, the main European stock index closed down 1,46 percent.
In addition to concerns about global economic activity, economist Nastássia Romanó, from Omar Camargo Corretora, mentioned that the Ibovespa has also been suffering from domestic factors.
"Companies have doubts about how to act in a scenario of lower growth and higher inflation," he said.
In Brazil, Petrobras' preferred shares and Gafisa's common shares were the main drags on the Ibovespa, falling 1,7 and 3,7 percent, respectively.
On the positive side, in addition to OGX, noteworthy companies also released their fourth-quarter results -- Ultrapar Participações rose 4,5 percent, Banco do Brasil advanced 4,1 percent, and Gerdau increased by 2,8 percent.
(By Danielle Assalve, additional reporting by Sabrina Lorenzi)