Shares of Bovespa Holding SA -- the owner of Brazil's most important exchange -- jumped 47 percent following a long-awaited IPO that raised 6.6 billion reals (US$3.7 billion; euro2.6 billion) for the exchange's owners.

The shares were trading Friday afternoon at 33.90 reals (US$18.80; euro13.07) far above Thursday's 23 reals (US$12.77; euro8.97) per share IPO price.

Bovespa sold 288 million shares in the IPO and demand was so strong internationally that dollars poured into Brazil, adding to the greenback's woes in Latin America's largest nation, an emerging economic world power increasingly seen as a relatively safe investment haven.

The U.S. dollar, battered by the real all year, fell nearly 2 percent against Brazil's currency on Friday despite dollar purchases by Brazil's Central Bank. For the year, the dollar is now down 16.9 percent against the real.

The Bovespa -- a Portuguese acronym for the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange -- is owned by a group of 292 banks, brokerages and individual investors who are expected to pocket the proceeds of the IPO. Among its biggest stake holders are Grupo Itau, the controlling shareholder of Brazilian bank Banco Itau SA, and Grupo Santander Banespa, a Brazilian division of Spain's Banco Santander SA.

The IPO easily surpassed the previous record set in Brazil in July, when credit card networking services provider Redecard SA raised 4.6 billion reals (US$2.6 billion; euro1.83 billion).

A regulatory filing on the IPO did not say what size stake in the Bovespa the IPO represented, but the initial public offering was made under rigorous listing rules requiring a minimum stake of 25 percent to be floated.

The Bovespa reported profits of 244 million reals (US$136 million; euro95.6 million) in the first half of 2007, up 71 percent over the same period last year.

The surge came amid high domestic and international demand for shares of Brazilian companies and a big increase in initial public offerings. Companies are seeking to raise money to expand operations and take advantage of heavy consumer demand for everything from cars to apartments and appliances.

Spurred by orthodox government monetary policy, Brazil's economy has grown steadily for the last five years amid predictions the trend will continue for the nation of nearly 190 million people, bucking the country's traditional boom and bust economic cycles.