Colombian stocks continued to tumble Thursday and have now declined in each of the past seven sessions going back to late 2010 as worries about accelerating food-price inflation led investors to sell shares in grocers and food producers.
The Colombian Stock Exchange’s IGBC index of blue-chip stocks declined 1.61% to close at 15,009 points. Since hitting a high of 15,805 points Dec. 27, the IGBC has retreated 5%.
Shares of Grupo Nacional de Chocolates SA, the country’s largest food producer, declined 1.08% to COP25,700 ($13.66). Shares of Almacenes Exito, Colombia’s largest retailer whose main business is hypermarket stores that sell everything from groceries to appliances, fell 1.29% to COP23,000.
Ecopetrol, the IGBC’s second-heaviest weighted share, also declined, falling 2.06% to COP3,805.
Meanwhile, the Colombian peso strengthened Thursday, ending at COP1,867 to the dollar, from COP1,881 at Wednesday’s close. (Dan Molinski / Dow Jones Newswires)