Brazil's Bovespa Plunges 10%, Heads For Worst Week Since 1999

By Alexander Ragir

Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Brazilian stocks fell for a seventh day and headed for the worst week this decade, as metal prices slid the most in four years on concern a global recession will sap demand for raw materials. The Bovespa's 10 percent plunge triggered a trading halt.

Cia. Vale do Rio Doce sank 9.9 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its 2009 iron ore price forecast and nickel dropped 18 percent in London. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil's state-controlled oil company, dropped the most in almost a month as crude prices fell below $80 a barrel.

The Bovespa index slid 3,777.22 to 33,303.08 at 9:34 a.m. New York time. The index fell 25 percent so far this week, poised for the worst weekly decline since January 1999. BM&FBovespa MidLarge Cap index dropped 8.7 percent, while the BM&FBovespa Small Cap index dropped 8.5 percent.

Petrobras fell 11 percent to 23.01 reais. Crude oil for November delivery lost as much as $7.02 in New York.

Vale dropped 2.42 reais to 22.13 reais. The Bloomberg Base Metals 3-Month Price Commodity Index dropped 7.5 percent to 159.18, the biggest decline since October 2004. Copper headed for its biggest weekly rout in 22 years in London.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexander Ragir in Rio de Janeiro at aragir@bloomberg.net.