Brazil stocks are falling on fears that a global slowdown is taking hold now that Japan is officially in a recession.Sao Paulo's Ibovespa index is down 2.4 percent at 34,900. Brazil's currency, the real has lost ground against the dollar, dipping to 2.3 reals per dollar.
The losses for big Brazilian companies Monday follow confirmation that Japan slipped into recession in the third quarter of the year for the first time since 2001.
Investors were also disappointed that the world leaders' summit in Washington over the weekend did not yield more concrete proposals for a new international financial framework.