Argentine shares fall

Argentine shares closed down on Friday as the market continued to react to worse-than-expected second quarter earnings results, traders said.
The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange's benchmark MerVal share index fell 2.18 percent to 934.03 points. Trading volume was weak at 38.4 million pesos ($12.7 million). The bourse is down 13 percent to date this year and three percent this month.
Barreyro said companies such as financial group Group Financiero Galicia, down 4.05 percent on Friday, were among several blue chips with results below expectations.
Group Financiero Galicia, the most heavily weighted stock on the MerVal, posted on Wednesday a narrower first-half loss from a year ago but surprised traders who expected the group to recover from first-quarter losses.
The peso meanwhile closed stable at 3.02/3.025 per dollar. The peso has fallen just over 2 percent so far this year.