OREANDA-NEWS. The main Ibovespa index of the São Paulo Stock Exchange on Wednesday fell by almost 5% amid news of confirmation of the first case of coronavirus in Brazil. This is evidenced by the data of the trading platform, which began work after the carnival.

Less than half an hour after the start of trading, Ibovespa lost more than 5600 points, dropping 4.93% to 108 206 points. According to analysts, the situation is also largely affected by the negative dynamics of trading in Europe. At the same time, the national currency rate recorded another historic minimum of 4.42 reais per dollar. Since the beginning of the year, the real dipped against the dollar by 9.55%. Against this background, the country's Central Bank announced its intention to conduct an extraordinary foreign exchange intervention.

On Wednesday morning, the country's Ministry of Health confirmed information about the country's first case of coronavirus in a 61-year-old patient in Sao Paulo, who arrived from Italy. In total, doctors in the country suspect 20 cases of coronavirus in different states. 12 patients arrived from Italy.