Colombian stocks rose sharply Thursday led by outsized gains in shares of Cemex Latam Holdings (CLH.BO), a unit of the Mexican cement firm Cemex SAB (CX).
The Colcap index, a benchmark for the Colombian Stock Exchange, increased 0.97% to end at 1842.71 points. The Colcap index rose 17% last year.
Cemex, which has mostly seen declines since its debut on the Bogota exchange in November, rose 2.2% Thursday to end at COP11860 as investors bet the government will finally begin several large infrastructure construction projects in the new year.
Meanwhile, the Colombian peso gained again versus the dollar, ending at COP1,762.50 to the dollar from COP1,765 the previous day. The peso has risen sharply over the past month amid expectations that a new tax rule will attract more foreign players to peso-denominated investments.
The yield on Colombia’s peso-denominated bond due July 2024 closed at 5.660% from 5.664% a day earlier.
