Souza Cruz Gains as Brazil to Set Minimum Prices for Cigarettes

Souza Cruz SA (CRUZ3), Brazil’s biggest tobacco company, rose for the first time in four sessions after a government official said Brazil will set minimum prices for cigarettes as it seeks to avoid tax evasion.
Shares climbed 0.5 percent to 17.82 reais at the close of trading at 4:15 p.m. New York time, after earlier jumping as much as 2.6 percent. The Bovespa tumbled 2.3 percent to 56,017.22.
A minimum price for cigarettes would be positive for big tobacco companies because it could stop smaller rivals from evading taxes in order to sell cheaper cigarettes, Caue Pinheiro, an analyst at SLW Corretora, said in a telephone interview. “This measure would be good for Souza Cruz.”
The government plans to release a decree with the minimum prices for cigarettes next week, Marcelo Fisch, an auditor at the tax agency, told reporters today in Brasilia