Colombian Stocks Surge After Elections
2026-06-01 15:29
By
Andre Joaquim
1 min. read
Colombia's MSCI COLCAP index surged by nearly 7% to above the 2,320 mark on the first session of June, its highest since April, after rightwing populist outsider de la Espriella won the largest share of votes in the country's Presidential elections, setting up a run-off with leftist Cepeda, backed by outgoing President Petro.
The result contrasted with polls that favored a leftist victory.
Colombian equities tracked the surge for the peso and their sovereign bonds.
Espriella had pledged to cut Colombia's growing budget deficit amid the country's increasingly tight public finances, with last year's shortfall coming at 6.4% of the GDP, a reason cited by the central bank to hold rates restrictive.
At the same time, the candidate also pledged to back coal mining and oil drilling in Colombia, which face opposition from the incumbent government.
Ecopetrol, the state oil company, surged over 8%.