MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian equities and currency slump on Tuesday on latest opinion polls

The Real currency weakened 1.46%, while the benchmark Bovespa equities index fell 2.4% to its lowest level since July

Brazilian equities and currencies slumped on Tuesday after an opinion poll on the presidential election showed leftist candidates gaining ground while market-friendly centrists did not.

Traders had bet that a market-friendly candidate would emerge from the pack to win in October 7. But a Datafolha opinion poll released on Monday night underlined that the window for such a development is rapidly closing.

The Real currency weakened 1.46%, while the benchmark Bovespa equities index fell 2.4% to its lowest level since July.

Leftist candidates such as Ciro Gomes and Fernando Haddad, the likely stand-in for former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, made progress, the poll showed.

Right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro extended his lead marginally after surviving a near fatal stabbing at a campaign event.

Market-friendly centrists such as former Sao Paulo Governor Geraldo Alckmin continued to lag, meaning a run-off is likely between Bolsonaro and a leftist candidate following the Oct. 7 election.