Argentine stocks end lower

Argentine stocks slipped on Friday for a fourth straight session, pressured by persistent worries about fallout from a US economic downturn and the absence of institutional investors, traders said. The MerVal index of 42 leading companies closed 0.43 percent lower at 2,002.46 points, pushing losses to more than 6 percent since Monday.
"The MerVal fell again in line with Wall Street's erratic behaviour amid fears about the US economy," said Horacio Corneille, trader at a company that bears his name. Volume on the broad market was a weakish 88 million pesos ($28 million); 29 active shares advanced, 46 declined and 10 were unchanged.
"Institutional investors have been missing for days and this affects the MerVal's volatility, creating a cautious and lateral market," said Francisco Marra, an analyst at Bull Market Brokers. The MerVal's losses were led by natural gas distributor Metrogas, which sank 8.6 percent to 1.17 pesos a share.
Sovereign bonds traded locally fell for a fourth straight day, ending 1.4 percent lower on average. The worst losses were seen in Par bonds denominated in pesos, which fell 1.6 percent.