Argentine stocks dropped on Friday under the influence of Wall Street, where unemployment and record-high oil prices battered markets, and local bond prices were damaged by political uncertainty. The benchmark MerVal stocks index lost 0.45 percent to 2,179.72 points.
On the broad market, volume was moderate at $25 million. Of active issues 17 advanced, 55 declined and 13 were unchanged. Group Financiero Galicia, which owns the country's largest bank, slumped 4.49 percent to 1.7 pesos per share, largely due to falling prices for Argentine bonds. Local banks are required to hold large government debt positions.
"The session was affected by the brutal landslide of the Dow Jones, but the MerVal didn't show the whole story at the close thanks to oil companies that cushioned losses," said Leopoldo Olivari, trader with Bacque brokerage.
Petrobras Energia Participaciones, the Argentine arm of Brazilian state energy firm Petrobras, jumped 3.59 percent to 4.33 pesos per share as oil zoomed nearly 9 percent higher to a record $139 a barrel. Government debt traded locally shed an average 0.8 percent, led by a 2.4 percent fall in the peso-denominated Discount bond. "The bond market is still being hit by political uncertainty created around the long farm conflict," said one trader.
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