US-listed Colombian stocks jump on right-wing presidential candidate's "strong momentum"
BUZZ-US-listed Colombian stocks jump on right-wing presidential candidate's "strong momentum" ** U.S.-listed shares of Colombian companies climb premarket after right-wing candidate Abelardo De La Espriella's strong showing in the first round of presidential election
** Oil and gas explorer GeoPark GPRK.N rises 2.9%, while petroleum co Ecopetrol EC.N jumps 7.7%
** Financial holding company Grupo Aval AVAL.N gains 5.1%, and Global X MSCI Colombia ETF COLO.P advances 6%
** De La Espriella, who has portrayed himself as an outsider free from political baggage, received 43.7% of the votes
** His rival Ivan Cepeda, a long-time senator and activist, won just under 41%
** "The results of the first round are very likely to trigger a positive market reaction across all local asset classes, given very strong momentum for Abelardo de la Espriella," Morgan Stanley analysts write
** The two candidates will now compete in a runoff election
** "Colombian assets would rally in the event of a victory for a right-wing candidate in the presidential election," says Kimberley Sperrfechter, senior EM economist at Capital Economics
** However, "even if there's a shift to the right, Colombia's fiscal problems will eventually return to the spotlight," she adds
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru)