COLOMBIA: Colcap Falls 0.35% As Traders Take Profit In Ecopetrol Stocks

(RTTNews) - Colcap, the main index of the Colombian Stock Exchange, fell 0.35% near the end of Friday's trade, trading at 1,518.02 points due to profit-taking on Ecopetrol's shares and a poor performance by Sura.

Ramses Pestanapalmett, an analyst at Ultraserfinco, noted that Ecopetrol stocks are falling due to partial profit-taking by investors after the rally on previous weeks amid a spike in oil prices abroad.

On the political side, the chief negotiator of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group, a.k.a. "Pablo Beltrán," confirmed that the guerrilla offensive on the oil industry must go on because there is no agreement with the government on a new ceasefire.

The shares of Bancolombia (+1.00%), Preferencial Bancolombia (+0.87%), Davivienda (+0.41%), Cemex (+0.37%), and Éxito (+0.12%) were higher, while Ecopetrol (-1.86%), Canacol (-1.73%), Sura (-1.49%), and Cemargos (-0.87%) weredown.

Meanwhile, the locally traded U.S. dollar closed at 2,860.55 Colombian pesos, marking a 0.14% rise, after the release of inflation data in the United States. Wilson Tovar, an analyst at Acciones & Valores, said that the inflation data released on Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor served as fuel for the currency to rebound before the closing. Consumer prices in the United States gave signs of acceleration, exceeding market expectations and standing above the U.S. Federal Reserve target, said the analyst.