Brazil’s Ibovespa rose 0.3% to close at a fresh record of 165,568 on Thursday, extending gains as strength in financials and utilities outweighed weakness in commodity-linked sectors. Banks led advances, supported by resilient domestic activity data and a still-restrictive monetary backdrop that continues to underpin margins, while utilities also traded mostly higher. In contrast, Petrobras fell 1.1%, tracking softer crude prices after US President Trump downplayed earlier threats of direct engagement with Iran, easing supply risk concerns. Steelmakers underperformed, with CSN, CSN Mineracao, and Usiminas sliding more than 3% after disappointing Chinese monetary aggregates weighed on demand expectations. Meanwhile, IBGE data showed retail sales rose a solid 1.0% month on month and 1.3% year on year in November, reinforcing confidence in domestic demand, though gains in consumer-linked stocks were tempered by the Central Bank’s tight policy stance.