Brazilian markets went up, as economic news provided a focus. In the U.S., October retail sales rose 0.2%, or 0.9% excluding autos, suggesting American consumers remained active in spite of higher oil prices.

Brazilian shares leapt on the potential passage of a key piece of public works legislation. Brazil's benchmark Bovespa Index jumped 514.72 points, or 2.19%.

Brazilian stocks rallied, on signs Congress may soon pass a stalled bill that would encourage domestic and foreign companies to invest in key public infrastructure projects. The program is known as PPP (Public-Private Partnerships).

Congressional leaders reported that a deal was established with members of the opposition to pass the bill, which is designed to attract foreign direct investment to Brazil's ailing transport systems by creating public-private partnerships.

Approval of the public-private partnership law would clear one of the 21 pieces of legislation backed-up in Congress and enable the government to continue with much-needed structural reforms.

Also, Brazil and China signed a series of cooperation accords designed to increase trade and investment.

The accords were inked during yesterday's Brasília visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao. Next week, Brazil's markets will be shut on Monday to commemorate the Proclamation of the Republic national holiday.

In earnings news, Brazil's state oil company Petrobras said its third- quarter net profit firmed to 5.5 billion reais from 5.4 billion reais in the year-ago period, as steeper oil and fuel prices helped to offset a dip in local crude output.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization strengthened to 9 billion reais from 8.2 billion reais last year. Quarterly net revenue totaled 29.1 billion reais, compared with 23.8 billion reais one year pri