Colombian equities closed the trading day lower on Friday, with the benchmark COLCAP finishing down 0.75%.
Selling was concentrated in the Financials, Investment and Public Services sectors, which together contributed to the market-wide decline. The session produced a mix of individual performers across the index.
The top performer on the COLCAP was Etb (BVC:ETB), which surged 7.53% - a gain of 3.50 points - to finish at 50.00. Grupo Bolivar SA (BVC:SCA) also advanced, rising 1.04% or 1,000.00 points to close at 97,500.00, while Ecopetrol SA (BVC:ECO) edged up 0.43% or 10.00 points to end the day at 2,350.00.
On the downside, Mineros SA (BVC:MAS) led declines, falling 3.57% or 780.00 points to settle at 21,080.00. Grupo Energia Bogota SA ESP (BVC:GEB) retreated 2.95% or 100.00 points to close at 3,295.00, and Banco Davivienda Pf (BVC:DVI_p) slipped 2.76% or 800.00 points to finish at 28,200.00.
Reported advance-decline figures from the Colombia Stock Exchange in the available data appear unclear. The published line read: "Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the Colombia Stock Exchange by 0 to 0 and 1 ended unchanged." That phrasing is ambiguous in the source material and cannot be independently clarified here.
Shares of Grupo Bolivar SA (BVC:SCA) reached a three-years high in the session, closing at 97,500.00 after a 1.04% gain of 1,000.00 points.
Commodities and currency markets moved alongside local equities. US coffee C for March delivery declined 3.50% or 12.10 to $333.40. US cocoa for March delivery rose 0.55% or 23.00 to $4,200.00. The April Gold Futures contract posted a substantial drop, falling 8.28% or 443.35 to trade at $4,911.45 a troy ounce.
In foreign-exchange markets, the peso weakened against the US dollar, with USD/COP up 0.90% to 3,673.85. BRL/COP fell 0.53% to 698.12. The US Dollar Index Futures was reported up 0.88% at 96.98.
Market participants should note that sector-level weakness in financials and public services was the immediate catalyst for the COLCAP decline on the day, while commodity price swings and currency moves added additional headwinds and uncertainty for investors.
Because the available advance-decline data is presented ambiguously in the source, a clear tally of advancing versus declining issues could not be confirmed for this report.