The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that Brazilian stocks and currency posted historic losses Monday after the surprise re-election of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reversed recent market bets on a right-wing ascent to power. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says Brazil's real tumbled over 11 per cent against the U.S. dollar in early spot trading, one of its biggest daily declines on record, while the benchmark Bovespa stock index was down more than 15 per cent in its largest daily percentage drop since 1998. The sell-off also hit sovereign debt, with longer-dated bonds hit hardest and the 2054 maturity down 2.5 cents to yield 7.45 per cent as Brazil's fiscal path came into focus. Mauricio Monge, senior Latin America economist at Oxford Economics, said Lula's biggest challenge "will be to convince markets that he can deliver a credible, sustainable fiscal adjustment while prioritizing real wage growth and employment." Trading on Brazil's stock exchange was halted for 30 minutes. "The key signal for markets will be the next Lula administration's commitment to fiscal discipline, starting with the appointment of a new finance minister in coming weeks," said Graham Stock at RBC BlueBay Asset Management.