The Colombian stock index rose 0.5% on Friday as investors anticipate the country’s largest bank, Bancolombia SA, will release high profit on Monday.
The Colombian benchmark IGBC index gained 0.5% to 11,724.52 points, while the Colcap index, which includes the largest companies by market capitalization, gained 0.4% to 1,391.02 points.
“Bancolombia is likely to report nice profit on Monday,” said Monica Agudelo, a market analyst with local brokerage Asesores en Valores.
The preferred shares of Bancolombia gained 1% to 22,220 Colombian pesos ($11.49), while the common shares gained 1.7% to COP22,300.
Shares of financial holding company Grupo Suramericana SA rose 1.4% to COP26,560 after the company Thursday reported its profit jumped 63% COP446 billion.
“The company is doing very well, but the share price is near historic highs, so people are a bit nervous,” Agudelo said.
On the currency market, the Colombian peso strengthened to COP1,933.6 to the dollar from COP1,942 on Thursday.
On the debt market, the yield on the benchmark 2020 local peso-denominated bond rose to 9.095% from 9.052% on Thursday.
(Inti Landauro, Dow Jones)
