COLOMBIA: Colcap Falls 0.16% As Financial Sector Shares Weigh

(RTTNews) - Colcap, the benchmark stock market index in Colombia, fell 0.16% to 1,550.08 Friday, after a report showed rising delinquency in loans at local banks, a few days before the earnings report from Bancolombia, a heavy-weight constituent of Colcap, said Camilo Silva, an analyst at Valora Inversiones.

The shares of Avianca (1.41%), Ecopetrol (1.13%) and Corficolombiana (1.04%) all ended lower.

Avianca, however, rose 1.41%, even after reporting an 83% decrease in its first-quarter net profit. The company results reflect impacts from a pilot's strike.

Silva said that the report was seen as positive because it showed a recovery of Avianca's operating income in a year that will be in its concept challenging for airlines to world level due to the increase in oil prices.

Markets will remain closed in Colombia on Monday due to a local holiday. The locally traded US dollar rose 0.35%, to 2,836.00 pesos. In the week, the Colcap rose 0.19%.