Sao Paulo stock exchange largest in Latin America

The Sao Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa) is the largest in Latin America, according to a study released on Friday by advisory firm Economatica.

The study showed that 2 billion U.S. dollars were negotiated in Bovespa in June, and that the flow of foreign investment represented 35 percent of all operations on the Brazilian stock exchange.

The study also pointed out that even if it did not rely on foreign investors, Bovespa would still be the largest among Latin American countries, adding that Mexico's stock exchange, which came second in the ranking, hosted operations that amounted to 522 million dollars in June.

The stocks of state-owned oil and gas Petrobras are the most negotiated, the study said, reaching a daily total of 254 million dollars. In second place are the stocks of mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), with negotiations of 200 million dollars per day.

Although Bovespa occupies the top slot among Latin American stock exchanges, it is still far from the largest U.S. stock exchange, New York's Wall Street. There, the most negotiated stocks "of oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil" score higher on an average day than the total of all stocks negotiated in Sao Paulo.

Source: Xinhua