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Brazil shares tumble on US rate fears: traders

SAO PAULO: Brazilian shares tumbled 6.1 percent on Tuesday, according to preliminary close figures, amid fears of another US rate hike and sharp losses on Wall Street, traders said.

"The fear of higher US rates is taking its toll on Dow Jones and on us," said Isabel Lemos, a fund manager at Banco Fator in Sao Paulo. "Coming on the heels of the strong gains in...December, I expect we'll see some more profit-taking before we resume an upward trajectory."

Firms that posted the biggest gains at the end of 1999, like Globocabo and Embratel took the biggest hit on Tuesday.-Reuters