Colombian stocks declined Wednesday, pushed lower by a drop in oil shares, while the peso strengthened slightly against the dollar.
The Colcap index, the benchmark for Colombia, fell 0.47% to 1571.96 points. The index has retreated 13.8% so far this year.
Among the most heavily traded stocks, the sharpest drop was posted by Pacific Rubiales Energy, a Toronto-based oil firm that is Colombia’s largest independent crude producer. The oil firm dropped 1.79% to COP38,300.
Ecopetrol SA, the state-run oil firm, also registered a decline and closed 0.99% lower at COP3,995.
Shares of Grupo Aval, one of the largest banking groups in Colombia, rallied 6.11% to COP1,215 on news of its addition to MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Brokerage firm InterBolsa SA said the stock will see higher demand from “pension funds which are willing to replicate the MSCI Emerging Market Index.”
The Colombian peso, meanwhile, traded around noon at COP1,908 to the dollar from COP1,915 a day earlier. The yield on Colombia’s peso-denominated bond due July 2024 closed at 7.562%, after opening the session at 7.550%.
