Colombia’s stock market remained sluggish Tuesday, ahead of the release of unemployment data on Wednesday morning, which are expected to show an economy still struggling to recover from the economic downturn.
Shares of Colombian state-controlled electricity-grid operator Interconexion Electrica, or ISA, rose 1.08% to COP13,060 (US$6.42) Tuesday on news that company would buy 60% of Cinta Chile, a highways business that controls 907 kilometers of roads in Chile.
Spanish infrastructure conglomerate Grupo Ferrovial SA agreed to sell the stake for around US$300 million, ISA said in a statement.
“[ISA] was one of the few shares that traded any significant volume,” said Carlos Quintero, an analyst at local brokerage Corredores Asociados. “People see this as very positive news. They are executing the plans they had announced and that people were waiting for.”
Canada-based oil company Pacific Rubiales rose 0.71% to COP31,420 in its fifth day of trading in Colombia.
The benchmark IGBC index inched up 0.06% to 11,568.90 points. Volume was light, with many market players on vacation. The Colcap index, which includes the largest companies by market capitalization, rose 0.09% to 1,366.35 points.
The Colombian peso weakened slightly to COP2,042 against the dollar, from COP2,035 on Monday. In the absence of any important news the currency is moving in the same 10-peso range seen Monday, said Francisco Chaves, a debt strategist with local brokerage Corredores Asociados.
The yield on Colombia’s benchmark peso-denominated bond maturing in 2020 closed at 8.490%, unchanged from Monday. (Matthew Bristow / Dow Jones)