Brazil’s Bovespa Futures Gain on Commodities, Vale Rally

By Alexander Ragir

Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s Bovespa index futures rose, indicating the gauge may surpass a 14-month high, as commodity prices climbed and Vale SA rallied after billionaire Eike Batista said he may attempt to buy a stake in the miner.

Vale’s U.S. traded shares gained 1.3 percent after Batista said yesterday that he may be interested in acquiring a stake in the world’s second-biggest mining company. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, also rose 1.3 percent as crude advanced for the first time in four days.

Bovespa stock futures rose 0.6 percent to 61,670 at 8:06 a.m. New York time. Brazilian stocks rose yesterday as steelmakers and miners climbed on the prospect the recovering economy will bolster earnings.

Vale’s American depositary receipts added 29 cents to $22.27 in trading before the official opening of markets in New York. Bradespar SA, a holding unit of Banco Bradesco SA and controlling shareholder of Vale, said in a regulatory filing late yesterday that Batista showed “interest” in acquiring the company’s indirect stake in Vale. Bradespar said it didn’t “consider or accept” the offer.

Batista is also interested in acquiring the stake that Previ, Latin America’s largest pension fund, holds in Vale, Brazilian newspaper Valor reported yesterday, without saying where it got the information.

“We have cash, we have resources and if we have space, it will happen,” Batista told reporters late yesterday in New York when asked about his interest in Vale. He declined to comment further on any talks he was having about acquiring Vale shares.

‘Bullish Gap’

Vale may rise 10 percent in U.S.-trading in the next few weeks after a two-week rally created a “bullish gap,” according to Trading Central analyst Cyril Berkouk.

Vale’s American depositary receipts have jumped 10 percent since Sept. 7, opening a bullish gap, meaning the stock is likely to rise in the short-term and may surge to $24.50, according to Berkouk, who uses charts to analyze stocks.

Petrobras ADRs added 59 cents to $45.78 in New York.

Crude oil rose for the first time in four days before a report forecast to show U.S. crude supplies contracting, while a weaker dollar boosted the investment appeal of commodities. The Bloomberg Base Metals 3-Month Price Commodity Index rose 2 percent to 186.73, halting three days of decline.

The Bovespa has jumped 62 percent this year on speculation a rebound in commodity prices and record-low interest rates will bolster growth in Latin America’s largest economy. The rally sent its price to 25.43 times reported earnings, a five-year peak and higher than the 20.67 price-to-earnings ratio of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, according to Bloomberg data.

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