Colombia’s Stock Market Rises as the Peso Hits a Six-Year High
Key Facts
- COLCAP closed up 1.57% at 2,295.72, a broad advance led by industrials, services and agriculture rather than the oil complex
- The peso firmed past 3,332 per dollar, down 1.62% on the live board and near the strong end of its six-year range as a soft-dollar bid took hold
- Weak US June payrolls did the heavy lifting cutting Fed-hike odds, pressuring the dollar and lifting emerging-market currencies including the peso
- Cementos Argos ordinary shares were among the blue-chip gainers at +1.41% while telecom minnow ETB slid 10.89% and preferred Cementos Argos shed 6.00%
- Brent hovered near $72 and WTI near $68.78, pre-war lows that capped Ecopetrol yet failed to derail the wider tape
Today’s Focus
Colombia’s equity benchmark, the COLCAP, closed the July 3 session up 1.57% at 2,295.72 — a firm advance built on industrials, services and agriculture rather than the usual oil anchor.
The real story sat in the currency: the peso strengthened past 3,332 to the dollar, extending toward the strong end of a range last seen years ago, as a weaker-than-forecast US June payrolls print knocked the dollar and lifted risk currencies across the region.
Cementos Argos, the building-materials heavyweight, was among the blue-chip gainers at +1.41%, with gold miner Mineros up 1.28% and fuel distributor Terpel up 1.01% — while telecom minnow ETB cratered 10.89%.
Oil, Colombia’s macro anchor, stayed subdued with Brent near $72 and WTI near $68.78 as Strait of Hormuz shipping recovered — a headwind for state oil champion Ecopetrol but not enough to stop the broader bid.
What matters today. The session was a currency story dressed as an equity rally — the peso, not the index, is doing the talking, and it hangs on the dollar and the Fed.
01 The session in one read
Bogotá closed the week on the front foot — the COLCAP, the peso-denominated blue-chip index that foreign desks watch as Colombia’s headline gauge, added 1.57% to finish at 2,295.72.
The lift came from the unglamorous corners of the market — gains in the industrials, services and agriculture sectors propelled shares higher, not the oil-and-gas names that usually set the tone.
Beneath the index, the tape was a currency trade in disguise: the peso strengthened past 3,332 per dollar as a softer greenback rippled through emerging-market FX after a weak US jobs report.
For an outsider, the read is a market lifted by external tailwinds — a Fed-easing bet abroad doing more for Colombian assets than anything domestic on the day. Yet our reporting has shown that the peso’s multi-year strength and the COLCAP’s rally rest on more than a soft dollar; foreign capital has consistently favored Colombia’s conservative-leaning assets and rules-based policy framework, a structural inflow that outlasts any single payrolls print.
The evidence points one way: a soft US payrolls report weakened the dollar, the peso firmed past 3,332, and Colombian equities rode the broader risk-on tone to a 1.57% gain despite oil pinned near pre-war lows. The advance was broad rather than oil-driven, which makes it more durable than a commodity spike — but with the GXG proxy still 6.3% below its 52-week high and crude soft, the variable to watch is whether the Fed-easing narrative holds or a dollar rebound reverses the peso’s tailwind.
02 The day’s numbers
| Measure | Level | Change | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| COLCAP (blue-chip index) | 2,295.72 | +1.57% | Broad advance; industrials and services led |
| Colombian equities (GXG proxy) | 41.55 | −0.22% | −6.3% vs 52-week high; range 27.29–44.34 |
| USD/COP (the peso) | 3,332 | −1.62% | Peso firmer; near strong end of six-year range |
| Brent crude | ≈72.13 | +0.46% | Near pre-war lows; caps Ecopetrol |
| Key technical level | 2,300 (COLCAP) | — | Round-number ceiling just overhead |
Note the split personality in the numbers — the local COLCAP surged 1.57%, yet the US-listed GXG proxy that the scan tracks eased 0.22% to 41.55, a gap that reflects timing and the dollar translation rather than genuine disagreement.
The peso is where conviction showed: at 3,332 it sat well below the top of its 52-week USD/COP band of 3,367–3,909 in the scan, meaning the currency has been grinding stronger — roughly 13.9% off its weak-peso high.
A live whole-market board carries the full session closes above; the tables here are curated reads, not a price dump. Rio Times · Live Market Intelligence
Live Market IntelligenceColombia — Live Market Board
Colombia — Live Market Board
Instrument Last Change YoY Prev. High Low Volume
COLCAP
2,453.87
-0.30%
—
9.04
9.05
9.02
4,133
USD/COP
3,140
+0.03%
-22.04%
3,139
3,141
3,105
—
BRENT
88.88
-0.03%
+34.42%
88.91
90.07
88.12
29,713
WTI
83.11
-0.11%
+31.57%
83.20
84.35
82.40
166,848
ECOPETROL
16.92
-0.53%
+98.01%
17.01
17.05
16.79
737,591
BANCOLOMBIA
95.87
-2.18%
+96.15%
98.01
100.36
95.73
188,740
GRUPO AVAL
5.40
+2.66%
+76.89%
5.26
5.49
5.32
146,447
TECNOGLASS
42.30
-1.10%
-48.04%
42.77
42.73
42.05
60,908
CREDICORP
375.17
-0.49%
+49.60%
377.00
384.43
372.27
88,375
BUENAVENTURA
34.45
-1.02%
+88.07%
34.80
35.62
34.33
275,831
SOUTHERN COPPER
193.97
-0.26%
+104.01%
194.48
199.36
192.59
367,102
03 Why it moved — a soft US payrolls print and a weaker dollar
The catalyst was imported. A weaker-than-forecast US June payrolls report cut the market-implied odds of a Fed hike, pressured the dollar to two-week lows and sent a soft-dollar bid through Latin American currencies — the peso among the biggest beneficiaries.
A firmer peso is a tailwind for Colombian equities in dollar terms and eases the imported-inflation worry that keeps the central bank cautious, so risk appetite improved even without a domestic spark.
Working the other way was oil. Brent hovered around $72 and WTI near $68.78 — levels last seen before the Middle East conflict, as Strait of Hormuz shipping recovered and US-Iran talks progressed — a drag on Ecopetrol and the energy complex that the rest of the market simply looked past.
04 The day’s movers
| Driver | Level / Move | Change | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cementos Argos (CEMARGOS) | 11,500.00 | +1.41% | Blue-chip gainer; building-materials bellwether |
| Mineros (MINEROS) | 15,820.00 | +1.28% | Gold miner rode firm bullion near $4,187 |
| Organización Terpel (TERPEL) | 18,000.00 | +1.01% | Fuel distributor; steady defensive bid |
| ETB (telecom) | 90.00 | −10.89% | Session’s sharpest fall; illiquid small-cap |
| Cementos Argos Pref (PFCEMARGOS) | 11,280.00 | −8.71% | Preferred line diverged sharply from common |
| Banco Davivienda Pref (PFDAVVNDA) | 22,980.00 | −2.63% | Financials laggard on the day |
The leaderboard tells you this was a quality, not a commodity, rally — Cementos Argos ordinary shares at +1.41% and Terpel at +1.01% are cyclical and defensive names, while Mineros’ +1.28% simply tracked gold near record ground.
The losers were idiosyncratic and shallow: ETB’s 10.89% drop is a thinly traded telecom minnow, and the 8.71% slide in preferred Cementos Argos against a rising common line looks like a positioning quirk rather than a sector signal.
05 The regional scoreboard
| Index | Country | Change |
|---|---|---|
| COLCAP | Colombia | +1.57% |
| Ibovespa | Brazil | +0.74% |
| IPSA | Chile | +0.55% |
| S&P/BMV IPC | Mexico | −0.02% |
| Merval | Argentina | +1.26% |
Colombia led the region on the day, with its 1.57% gain outpacing Argentina’s Merval at +1.26% and Brazil’s Ibovespa at +0.74% — a clean risk-on tape across Latin America bar Mexico, which drifted a fraction lower at −0.02% on USMCA overhang.
The live market board above carries the closes, including Peru’s BVL at +0.30%; the same soft-dollar impulse that firmed the peso ran through Brazilian and Chilean currencies too, a regional rather than Colombian story.
06 The technical picture
The COLCAP’s close at 2,295.72 leaves it pressing the round-number 2,300 ceiling — a level worth watching, since a clean break would open the path back toward the record 2,424 struck earlier in the year.
On the scan’s US-listed proxy, Colombian equities at 41.55 sit 6.3% below their 52-week high within a 27.29–44.34 band, so the medium-term uptrend is intact but not yet retesting the peak.
The cleaner technical signal is in USD/COP: at 3,332 the pair is grinding toward the strong end of its 3,367–3,909 yearly range, and momentum indicators have flagged it a persistent sell — dollar direction is the swing factor.
For a foreign investor, the message is that the currency, not the index, currently sets the risk-reward — a firming peso amplifies dollar returns but ties Colombia’s fortunes to the Fed.
07 What to watch
- Fed path: Whether the weak-payrolls, softer-dollar narrative holds — it is the single biggest driver of the peso and, through it, dollar returns on Colombian equities.
- Oil / Ecopetrol: Brent near $72 and WTI near $68.78 keep pressure on Ecopetrol and fiscal revenue; a further slide would test the market’s ability to rally without energy.
- COLCAP 2,300: The round-number ceiling just overhead — a decisive break reopens the path toward the 2,424 record high.
- Fiscal & politics: President-elect de la Espriella’s deficit-cut and debt-refinancing signals remain a structural swing factor for the peso and sovereign risk.
Background: Colombia’s Stocks Hold Flat as the Peso Surges on Weak US Jobs Data.
Background: Colombia’s Market Slips as Ecopetrol Sinks While ETB Soars to a One-Year High.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the COLCAP rise if oil was weak?
The rally was broad-based — industrials, services and agriculture led — and driven by a softer dollar after weak US payrolls, which lifted the peso and risk appetite despite Brent hovering near pre-war lows around $72.
How did the Colombian peso close?
The peso firmed past 3,332 per dollar, down about 1.62% on the day’s live board and near the strong end of its multi-year range, as the dollar slipped following the soft US jobs report.
Which stocks moved the most?
Cementos Argos led blue chips at +1.41%, with Mineros +1.28% and Terpel +1.01%; on the downside, ETB fell 10.89% and preferred Cementos Argos dropped 6.00%.
How did Colombia compare with the region?
Colombia led Latin America, with the COLCAP’s +1.57% ahead of Argentina’s Merval (+1.26%), Brazil’s Ibovespa (+0.74%) and Chile’s IPSA (+0.55%), while Mexico’s IPC edged down 0.02%.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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