The Colombian stock index fell in early session Monday to a level not
seen since June 2006 as the market is dragged down by the decline of
stocks in New York on Friday afternoon after the Colombian stock market
closed for the day.
The benchmark IGBC stock index was last down 5.8% to 6,286.03 points.
The stock index hasn’t closed that low since it ended at 6,160.25
points on June 13, 2006.
The Colombian stock market closes at 1 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET).
“There is that particularity that we close earlier, and when there is a
big move in world markets in the afternoon, we react to it the next
day,” said Juan Alberto Camargo, a market analyst with the local unit
of Santander Investment. “Markets are still falling on Monday, so the
trend is definitely downward.”
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.6% to its lowest
close since April 25, 2003, as it was dragged down by margin calls and
recession fears.
Concerns about state-controlled oil company Ecopetrol SA also contributed to the Monday decline in Colombian stocks.
Ecopetrol on Monday said Llanos Oil Exploration Ltd. sued Ecopetrol in
the Netherlands over an exploration contract. The company downplayed
the lawsuit, but some investors reacted by selling the shares, Camargo
said.
Shares of Ecopetrol fell 6.6% to 1,770 Colombian pesos ($0.74).
The Colombian peso weakened to COP2,381.57 to the dollar, from COP2,371
the previous day. The peso hadn’t closed that weak since Oct. 11, 2006.
The yield on the 2020 benchmark peso-denominated government bond fell to 13.325% from 13.431% the previous day. (Dow Jones)