What Helped Brazil’s Services PMI Rise So Much in September?

According to a report by Markit Economics, the final Brazil Services PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) stood at 50.7 in September 2017 compared to 49.0 in August 2017. It beat the preliminary market expectation of 49.5. After four months of contraction in services activity, the index moved into the expansion zone.

The performance of Brazil’s (EWZ) services PMI in September was mainly due to the following:

• Production volume and output improved at a higher rate.
• New business orders and export orders improved.
• Services activity had the strongest expansion since February 2015.
• Employment growth in the services sector declined.

The First Trust Brazil AlphaDEX ETF (FBZ) and the Direxion Daily MSCI Brazil Bull 3X ETF (BRZU) rose 2.2% and 12.0%, respectively, in September 2017.

Brazil’s economy largely depends on commodity exports and consumption. Presently, Brazil is experiencing some stabilization in commodity prices in spite of the huge ups and downs, which is helping the economy. The importance of the services sector has been improving gradually. The expectation of structural reforms under President Michel Temer seems to be driving market movement.

In the next part of this series, we’ll take a look at Russia’s manufacturing PMI in September 2017.