Lima Stock Exchange closes with losses after increase in interest rates by the FED

The Lima Stock Exchange (BVL) closed Wednesday’s session with losses, after raising the official interest rate by 0.75% by the Federal Reserve, the sixth consecutive increase since March, in a new attempt to control inflation.

At the end of the operations, the S&P/BVL Peru General Index, the most representative of the Lima stock market, fell by 1.08% to 20,866.42 points.

Similarly, the S&P/BVL Peru Selective Index, which is made up of the most traded shares in the local market, fell by 0.73% and stood at 551.16 units.

During the session, shares of 67 companies were quoted, of which 25 rose, 13 fell and 29 did not register a variation.

The sectors that presented gains were: construction (0.75%), industrial (0.65%) and consumption (0.35%).

On the other hand, the segments that had losses were: financial (-1.89%) and mining (-0.57%). The electricity and services sectors did not present variation.

Among the local stocks that rose the most were Leche Gloria (0.63%), Ferreycorp (0.44%) and Cementos Pacasmayo (0.24%).

In contrast, those that fell are Compañía de Minas Buenaventura (-6.47%) and Aceros Arequipa (-2-05%).

Latin American stock markets had a mixed performance on Wednesday, with attention focused on the statement released by the United States Federal Reserve (Fed), after its two-day monetary policy meeting.

The US central bank met the expectations of economists and the official interest rate of the largest economy in the world now stands at a range of between 3.75% and 4%. These are levels not seen since the end of 2007, before the great financial crisis broke out.

The Federal Reserve also announced that “more “continuous increases” and “a monetary policy that is restrictive enough” will be appropriate to return inflation to its 2% target.