Colombian stocks posted a slight decline Friday, reversing a trend of record highs seen over the last few days, as the local index was dragged down by a drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The IGBC index, the benchmark for Colombia, fell 0.3% to 12,918. The index was hurt by a 0.27% decline in the shares of Pacific Rubiales Energy to COP 43,290 ($23.07). Shares of state-controlled oil firm Ecopetrol SA, on the other hand, rose 0.34% to COP2,990.
Some analysts said the decline was mild considering the drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which plunged 261 points to 10,098 on doubts about the strength of the economic recovery in the U.S and disappointing corporate-earnings figures.
Shares of banking conglomerate Grupo Aval, which Thursday announced a $1.9 billion plan to purchase BAC-Credomatic, a bank in Central America, closed 0.71% higher at COP987. The company said it plans to issue shares locally for around $1 billion and may finance the rest of the purchase through bond sales.
The Colombian peso, meanwhile, weakened to COP1,876 from COP1,869 as some investors are wagering that the central bank next week may announce that it will resume its daily dollar purchases on the spot market in a bid to keep the peso from appreciating.
The yield on Colombia’s benchmark 2020 bond stood at 7.478%, down from 7.871% at the opening. (Darcy Crowe / Dow Jones)