Bovespa

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Bovespa (Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo) São Paulo Stock Exchange

Bovespa's building at night

Located in the heart of the biggest Brazilian city, São Paulo, Bovespa is the largest stock exchange in Latin America. On an average day (in 2004 figures), shares valued at R$ 1,221.3 million were traded on Bovespa , where US$1.00 = R$2.20 approximately. Established in August 23, 1890 on Rua 15 de Novembro, it was a public institution until 1966, when it became a non-profit civil association. ^{[citation needed]}

Bovespa is linked to all Brazilian stock exchanges, including Rio de Janeiro's, where government stocks are traded.

Brazilian stocks rise and fall depending on a number of factors, including the direction of monetary policy as determined by the SELIC rate of the Brazilian Central Bank. The benchmark indicator of Bovespa is the 50-stock Índice Bovespa.

On Bovespa, preferred stock ('Preferencial Nominativa' in Portuguese, or simply 'PN') is sometimes the most-traded class of stock for a particular company, although common stock (Ordinária Nominativa, or 'ON' in Portuguese) is also available for trading.

The number of companies traded at Bovespa is close to 550. Accordint to bovespa website

During Jan/2006 Bovespa reached a record mark with 38.382 points, which is about R$2.9 billion reals, with the capital movement of 2.5 billion of reals about US$1.3 billions negotiated in the same month. ^{[citation needed]} see reuters article

1 History
2 See also
3 On the News
4 External links

[edit] History

Founded on August 23, 1890 by Emilio Rangel Pestana, the "Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo" (São Paulo Stock Exchange, in English) - BOVESPA - has a long history of services given to the stock market and the Brazilian economy. Until the middle of the 1960s, BOVESPA and the other Brazilian stock markets were state corporations, tied with the state secretary of finances and brokers were government-appointed.

With the reforms of the national financial system and the stock market implemented in 1965/66, the stock markets had assumed the institutional role that keep until today, changing to non-profit civil associations, with administrative, financial and patrimonial autonomy. The old individual figure of the broker of government securities was substituted by the commercial broker.

São Paulo Stock Exchange Interior

Though self-regulating, BOVESPA operates under the supervision of the "Comissão de Valores Mobiliários" (Commission of Movable Values, in English--analogous to the American SEC) (CVM). Since the 1960s, it has constantly evolved with the help of technology. In 1972, BOVESPA was the first Brazilian stock market to implement an automated system for the dissemination of information on-line and in real time, through an ample network of computer terminals.

At the end of the 1970s, BOVESPA also introduced a telephone trading system in Brazil; the "Sistema Privado de Operações por Telefone" (Private System of Operations by Telephone, in English) (SPOT).

At the same time, BOVESPA developed a system of fungible safekeeping and online services for brokerage firms.

In 1990, the negotiations through the Sistema de Negociação Eletrônica - CATS (Computer Assisted Trading System) that was simultaneously operated with the traditional system of "Pregão Viva Voz" (Live Voice Trading ). Currently, the BOVESPA is a solely eletronic market.

In 1997, the new system of electronic negotiation of the BOVESPA, the MEGA was implemented successfully. MEGA extends the potential volume of processing of information and allows that BOVESPA to increase its overall volume of activities.

With a goal to broaden access to the markets, BOVESPA introduced in 1999, "Home Broker" and "After-Market", both electronic trading systems allowing small and medium-size investors to participate in trading. "Home Broker" allows users to immediately execute sell and buy orders inside the stock exchange. "After-Market" is an evening trading service, operating after the market has closed.