Brazil's Sao Paulo stock exchange plunges after Lula's re-election

Brazil's Sao Paulo stock exchange plunged nearly 17% at Monday's opening after leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won re-election, while the Brazilian currency also fell against the dollar. The 80-year-old defeated conservative Flavio Bolsonaro with 51.8% of votes versus 48.2%. Trading was suspended for 30 minutes after the Ibovespa index triggered a circuit breaker, a mechanism last used during the 2008 subprime crisis and 2020 pandemic. The real dropped 10.69% to 5.5750 per dollar. Lula ends his third term with record employment and controlled inflation, but rising public spending and debt, high household indebtedness, and among the world's highest interest rates.