May 15, 2014, 4:48 p.m. ET
SAO PAULO–Brazilian shares closed lower Thursday, with clothes vendor Hering one of the biggest decliners after a report on retail sales was published, and Brazilian real weakened against the dollar.
The benchmark Ibovespa stocks index fell 1% to 53855 points. The real exited active trading at 2.2197 Brazilian reais to the dollar, according to Tullett Prebon via FactSet, after closing at 2.2074 on Wednesday.
Retail sales fell 0.5% in March from February in seasonally adjusted terms and were down 1.1% from March 2013, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE, said Thursday.
Shares of clothing retailer Hering declined 4% to 23.23 reais, and supermarket operatar Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao, which owns the Pau de Acucar chain, fell 0.4% to 103.60 reais.
Other Brazilian blue-chips were mostly lower. Petrbras shares retreated 1.4% to 18.03 reais and iron miner Vale declined 0.3% to 28.17.