Argentine stocks inched higher on Monday in volatile trade of shares linked to the oil industry. The MerVal index of 13 leading stocks rose 0.37 percent to 1,651.07 points, accumulating a 6.98 percent gain since January 1. The index is up 0.84 percent so far this month.
Volume was slack at 29 million pesos ($9.3 million). "The market's tendency was dictated by the price of petroleum," said Hernan Labrone, an analyst at Fenix Compania Financiera. Three companies linked to the oil industry account for a 51.5 percent weighting on the MerVal.
The index climbed nearly 1 percent in early trading after oil prices rose above $60 a barrel before falling 0.17 percent when crude prices dipped. Oil prices eventually closed at $59.96 a barrel. MerVal heavyweight Tenaris, which is the leading global producer of steel tubes for the energy industry, rose 0.93 percent to close at 54.50 pesos. Petrobras Energia, the Argentine unit of Brazil's state oil company Petrobras, gained 1.44 percent to 63.60 pesos. The oil-linked shares "attracted most of the business in what largely was reduced trading," said Francisco Marra, a trader at Bull Market Brokers.
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