Colombia Stocks Plunge Led By Oil Shares; Peso At 4-Month Low
05/17/2012| 04:56pm US/Eastern
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Colombian stocks fell sharply Thursday as the market's heavyweight energy shares, state-controlled Ecopetrol (ECOPETROL.BO, ECP.T, EC) and Toronto-based Pacific Rubiales (PRE.T, PREC.BO, PEGFF), declined on lower international prices for oil.
The Colcap, considered the bellwether index for the Colombian Stock Exchange, dropped 1.74% to end at 1,707.10 points, its lowest point total since March 22.
With global oil prices down 15% over the past two months and registering more declines Thursday, Ecopetrol shares plunged 2.6% to COP5,300. Rubiales, Colombia's largest private oil producer, fell 2.1% to COP45,020.
Meanwhile, the Colombian peso fell 0.7% to its weakest closing level since late January, at COP1,806.00 for a dollar, from the previous day's close of COP1,793.45.
The yield on Colombia's peso-denominated bond due July 2024 closed at 7.162% after ending the previous session at 7.178%.
-By Dan Molinski, Dow Jones Newswires; 57-310-867-6542; dan.molinski@dowjones.com; Twitter: @danmolinski
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