Brazilian financial stocks rise by double digits on presidential election news

U.S.-listed shares of Brazilian fintech and financial services companies rose by double digits in premarket trading on Monday following news that South America’s largest country is heading into a runoff election. 

Right-wing candidate Flávio Bolsonaro managed to win 47% of the vote, surprising some poll watchers, while incumbent left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received 47%, the Rio Times reported.

The two will face off again later this month as neither candidate scored the 50% needed for a full victory.

Bolsonaro, a senator and the son of imprisoned former president Jair Bolsonaro, campaigned on a fiscal adjustment and spending cuts seen as being more investor friendly, though some have wondered if “he would ultimately prove more fiscally responsible than Lula,” as Reuters reported.

Either way, the markets are reacting.

Nu Holdings (NYSE: NU), owner of Latin America’s largest digital bank, saw its stock price jump more than 12% in premarket trading as of this writing. 

Shares of Brazil’s Banco Bradesco (NYSE: BBD) likewise rose by over 12%. 

PagBank, a payments platform and financial services company based in São Paulo, saw its U.S.-listed stock price (NYSE: PAGS) jump more than 15%.