Colombian stocks continued to rally Friday, gaining for the fifth straight session to a seven-month high as signs of progress on a Greek bailout fueled buying interest in emerging markets.
The Colcap index, which tracks blue-chip stocks on the Colombian Stock Exchange, rose 0.3% to end at 1,710.76 points, the index’s highest level since July 5.
Among the biggest individual gainers were shares of Colombia’s largest financial conglomerate Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A., which rose 1.6% to COP1,250. Colombia’s financial sector saw a huge increase in profits last year fueled by rising commercial and consumer loans.
The Colombian peso closed near its strongest level in six months at COP1,778.45 to the dollar from COP1,784.50 a day earlier. The country’s central bank is buying $20 million daily in the spot forex market to try to stem the peso’s gains.
The yield on Colombia’s peso-denominated bond due July 2024 closed at 7.345%, after beginning the session at 7.336%.