The Colombian IGBC stock index fell to its lowest level in two months following the decline of shares in the U.S., dragged by lingering concerns on the euro zone sovereign debt situation and on geopolitical worries in Asia.
The benchmark IGBC stock index fell 1% to 11,852.70 points, while the Colcap index, which includes the largest companies by market capitalization, fell 0.8% to 1,399.25 points. The IGBC index hadn’t closed that low since March 15, when it ended at 11,826.61 points.
The local market is just following what is happening abroad, said Jairo Lastra, a market analyst with local brokerage Proyectar Valores.
Worries about European governments’ finances and political tension between North and South Korea have dominated the markets all over the world, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling by almost 200 points at one point.
“Stocks here don’t fall because there is anything wrong about companies or the economy, it’s just noise from abroad,” Lastra said.
He said it’s not a good moment to buy as stock prices may still fall lower.
“I would recommend to buy shares around June 15,” he said.
Shares of oil company Pacific Rubiales Energy fell 2.5% to 38,000 Colombian pesos ($19.06), while shares of state-controlled oil company Ecopetrol SA fell 1.1% to COP2,630.
Preferred shares of the country’s largest bank Bancolombia SA fell 1.7% to COP22,120.
The yield on the Colombian benchmark government peso-denominated bond rose to 8.119% from 9.09% on Monday.
(Inti Landauro, Dow Jones)
