Why Petrobras Plummeted 11.6% Today
Shares of Brazilian oil giant Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) plunged today, down 11.6% in Monday trading. The unique sell-off when compared with other oil stocks, most of which were up today, is likely due to unrest within the country ahead of the Oct. 30 runoff presidential election.
The Brazilian government owns about 37% of Petrobras, but controls just over half its voting rights, so the fate of the company is inextricably linked with Brazilian politics. On that front, an incident last night may give a bigger advantage to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the left-wing candidate, in the upcoming runoff election. In investors' eyes, that would be an incremental negative for Petrobras.
News reports say that last night, Roberto Jefferson, an ally of President Jair Bolsonaro, shot a rifle and threw a grenade at police officers trying to arrest him. Police were reportedly ordered to arrest the former government official after he violated house arrest, under which he was put after making offensive remarks and threatening a Supreme Court Justice, and spreading misinformation about election integrity. Two police officers were injured.
Source Fool.com
