The iShares MSCI Brazil (NYSEArca: EWZ) and other ETFs tracking the emerging market were lower Tuesday as hundreds of thousands took to the streets in anti-government protests that have quickly gained momentum.
EWZ was down more than 1% in early U.S. trading Tuesday.
As many as 200,000 demonstrators turned out in Brazil’s largest cities in the largest protests in two decades, Reuters reports. “Monday’s demonstrations were the latest in a flurry of protests in the past two weeks that have added to growing unease over Brazil’s sluggish economy, high inflation and a spurt in violent crime,” according to the report.
EWZ was down 15% for the trailing three months heading into Tuesday’s trading. [A Brazil ETF That Hedges Against a Depreciating Real]
The Brazil fund joins other single-country ETFs such as Shares MSCI Turkey (NYSEArca: TUR) and Market Vectors Egypt (NYSEArca: EGPT) that have been hit by anti-government protests in recent weeks. [Another ETF Vulnerable to Domestic Strife]