Colombian stocks moved higher Friday, boosted by the surge in U.S. markets, while the peso weakened slightly on expectations that the Central Bank will intervene to curb the currency’s appreciation.
The benchmark IGBC stock index rose 1.51% to 13,904 points. The index tracked the gains in New York, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting a midday increase of 125 points, or 1.3%, to 10,111 points on reassurances by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the Central Bank was ready to take actions to spur a faltering economic recovery.
In Colombia, shares of state oil firm Ecopetrol SA climbed 1.33% to COP3,435.
The peso, meanwhile, weakened slightly to COP1,817.4 from COP1,816 a day earlier. On Thursday, Finance Minister Juan Carlos Echeverry said the Central Bank was “worried” by the appreciation of the peso, which has gained 11% against the dollar this year.
The Central Bank didn’t announce any plans last week to buy dollars in the spot market. The bank bought $1.6 billion in the first six months of the year in a bid to tame the currency’s appreciation. Some analysts believe that the Central Bank could soon carry out similar interventions in the spot market.
The yield on Colombia’s benchmark 2020 bond stood at 7.130% compared to 7.179% a day earlier.
