Colombian stocks closed higher Thursday, led by gains in textile maker Fabricato, an exporter that stands to benefit from a U.S.-Colombia free-trade deal that will be signed into law Friday at the White House.
The Colombian Stock Exchange’s benchmark Colcap index ended 0.22% higher at 1,619.15 points.
Shares of Fabricato, Colombia’s largest producer of textiles and a major exporter to the U.S., gained 2.17% to COP70.50. Its shares are 162% higher this year in anticipation of the U.S.-Colombia trade agreement, which was approved Oct. 12 by lawmakers in Washington. The legislation will be signed Friday by President Barack Obama in the Oval Office.
Colombian stocks are 11% lower this year, but have gained 0.5% since the trade deal was approved.
The Colombian peso closed weaker at COP1,908.75 versus the dollar, from COP1,900.30 Wednesday. The peso’s fall was in tandem with other Latin American currencies that also declined as investors worried about the broader effects of Europe’s debt crisis.
The yield on Colombia’s peso-denominated bond due July 2024 closed at 7.560%, after opening the session at 7.515%.
