The Sao Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa) benchmark index hit the 55,000-point barrier Monday, reaching up to 55,371 points.

The index was up 1.8 percent from Friday. Over the past 24 months, the so-called Ibovespa accumulated a total rise of 119 percent.

The 50,000-point mark was overcome on May 3. Shortly after that, on May 16, Austin Rating released an expectation of rise for 2007, according to which the index will break the 65,000 mark by the end of this year.

The latest barrier-breaker mark reinforced such expectation.