Colombia's Colcap Index Rises On Ecopetrol; Peso Weakens

Oil firm Ecopetrol SA climbs 1.25%

Retail chain Almacenes Exito climbs 1.78%

Peso weakens to COP1,772.52 to the dollar

Colombian stocks inched higher Monday, fueled by gains in some oil and retail shares while the peso retreated against the dollar.

The Colcap index, the benchmark for Colombia's most heavily traded shares, posted a 0.06% increase in the session to end at 1744.02 points. 

The index has climbed 10.97% since the start of the year.

State-run oil company Ecopetrol SA led the gains and was the most heavily traded stock in the session. 

Ecopetrol (EC, ECOPETROL.BO) rose 1.25% to COP5,680.

Almacenes Exito, Colombia's largest retailer, rose 1.78% to COP27,480.

Exito, which is controlled by Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA (CO.FR), is the market leader in Colombia with a share of more than 40% of the formal retail market. 

Last year it issued shares for COP2.5 trillion in the local stock exchange to help fund the purchase of Casino's operations in Uruguay.

The Colombian peso closed slightly weaker Monday at COP1,784.00 to the dollar, according to Set-FX, from COP1,772.52 the previous session.

The yield on Colombia's peso-denominated bond due July 2.024 closed at 7.233% after beginning the session at 7.230%.