Colombian stocks bounced back Wednesday, posting gains for the first session in seven days as investors saw buying opportunities following steep declines in some of the country’s key shares.
The benchmark IGBC index gained 3.37% to 15067.22 points, boosted by oil firms that also trade in foreign exchanges. The index dropped 3.5% Tuesday following fears of a sovereign-debt crisis in Ireland.
Stocks recovered Wednesday, with Pacific Rubiales Energy, an oil firm also listed in Canada, climbing 5.92% to COP55,100. Ecopetrol SA, the state-run oil firm, rose 4.48% to COP4,200.
The two companies Wednesday inaugurated new facilities in the Rubiales and Quifa fields, where they are partners, helping boost output by 100,000 barrels a day. The two fields are the backbone of surge in crude output in Colombia and are slated to produce 200,000 barrels a day by the end of the year.
Canacol Energy, another oil firm listed in Toronto, rose 11.1% to COP2,955.00. Charle Gamba, the company’s president, said Wednesday the company expects to increase its output to 35,000 barrels of crude oil a day by 2015 and sees ending this year with output at 7,000 barrels a day.
The peso strengthened to COP1,873.50 from 1,880.98 a day earlier as sovereign-debt concerns in the euro zone eased. Colombia has aimed to curb the peso’s surge by buying $20 million daily and keeping more dollars abroad. Policy makers are comfortable with the peso trading against the dollar in a range between COP1,800 and COP1,900, RBC said in a research note.
The yield on Colombia’s benchmark 2020, peso-denominated bond stood at 7.260%, down from 7.4328% a day earlier.
