

iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (NYSEARCA:EWZ - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 445,846 call options on the company. This is an increase of 152% compared to the average volume of 176,896 call options. Institutional Trading of iShares MSCI Brazil ETF Hedge funds and other institutional

Late-summer vacations and school prep usually signal a sleepy August for Wall Street. However, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) had other plans in mind.

Foreign investors are already positioning for Brazil's election through heavy post-election iShares MSCI Brazil ETF call activity, with the trade beginning to spill into the underlying market. The aggressive call strikes should not be read as price targets, as call spreads offer asymmetric upside with limited upfront risk. Brazil's presidential race has tightened materially, while prediction-market odds have also shifted in Flávio Bolsonaro's favor since August.

International or non-US investing has been quietly putting up robust numbers for shareholders. Today, we are seeing international, gold and even grains of late start to rally, without much give-back in the S&P 500 or Nasdaq.

Brazil's central bank and the European Central Bank (ECB) are studying a potential link between their instant payment systems, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said, in a move that could mark the first cross-border expansion of Brazil's hugely successful Pix platform.

The rally might be tied to commodities, which are also surging, or an expression of optimism around the country's upcoming general election in October.

The iShares MSCI Brazil ETF offers portfolio diversification for investors heavily exposed to the S&P 500 and the AI-driven U.S. tech sector. EWZ provides geographic, sectoral, and currency diversification, with significant exposure to commodities, financials, and domestic Brazilian stimulus policies. At 8.8x earnings, EWZ trades at a substantial discount to SPY's 20x, with potential for an 18.5% upside to its recent high.

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (NYSEARCA:EWZ) in the undefined quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 79,842 shares of the exchange traded fund's stock, valued at approximately $3,065,000. Other