Brazil's Petrobras leads stocks higher, real firms

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SAO PAULO, April 25 (Reuters) - Brazil's stock market rose on Friday as a surge in crude prices lifted shares of oil company Petrobras and the national currency edged higher on rising investment flows to the country.

The Sao Paulo stock exchange's benchmark Bovespa index .BVSP rose 0.95 percent to 65,187.34 points, the first gain in three sessions.

Voting shares of Brasil Telecom surged nearly 7 percent, after rival Oi Participacoes agreed to buy control of the company. Mining company Vale gained even after the company reported a decline in quarterly profits.

Net foreign investment inflows to the Sao Paulo stock exchange reached 6.1 billion reais this month through April 22, on track to become a record month for inflows.

"The (stock market) move is an important indication of investors' sentiment, given that Vale's shares rose even after the company announced results that were a bit below expectations," said Hamilton Moreira, a senior investment analyst at BB Investimentos.

The Brazilian real BRBY <BRL=> gained 0.18 percent to 1.667 per U.S. dollar.

Interest rate futures <0#DIJ:> on the BM&F commodities and futures exchange in Sao Paulo were mostly higher after inflation data on Friday showed consumer prices surging.

Brazil's benchmark IPCA inflation index jumped 0.59 percent in the month to mid-April, speeding up from a 0.23 percent increase in the month to mid-March.