Brazil stocks fall as U.S. jobs data spreads gloom

(Updates to close)

By Luciana Lopez

SAO PAULO, July 2 (Reuters) - Brazilian stocks fell on Thursday, as disappointing U.S. jobs data added to investor fears the world economy is still in a rut, while a sharp fall in oil prices weighed on heavyweight Petrobras.

The benchmark Bovespa index .BVSP fell 1 percent to 51,024.94 points, tracking 2.63 percent losses in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI. U.S. equities fell after payrolls data showed employers slicing more jobs than expected from June payrolls. See [nN01210643].

"The U.S. economy, in a weak spot, is forcing oil down," Andre Perfeito, an economist with Sao Paulo-based Gradual Investimentos, in a phone interview.

Oil prices slumped more than 4 percent as downbeat U.S. data fueled fears that if the world economy is still struggling, so will demand for energy.

Brazil's currency, the real (BRBY: Quote, Profile, Research), slumped 1.14 percent to 1.952 per dollar, as fears over the state of the world's largest economy dampened demand for riskier emerging market currencies.

The real has largely stayed within a range of 1.90 to 1.98 reais to the dollar over the past month, said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT Forex. "The level of 1.92 pretty much has been a bottom for the past month. I think that that level will hold," she said.

At the stock market, state-controlled energy giant Petrobras (PETR4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research) led declines in the Bovespa, falling 1.76 percent to 31.24 reais.