Argentine stock prices rose for the fourth straight session on Friday while the peso traded stable amid almost non-existent volume as a strike of Central Bank workers demanding better wages effectively paralysed the market, traders said.
The MerVal leading share index ended 1.73 percent higher at 967.68 points, helped by a rise in the Brazilian Bovespa index of 1.03 percent.
Trade was cautious ahead of new negotiations between the government and the International Monetary Fund over a $13 billion aid package. Volume was weak at 27.2 million pesos ($9.2 million).
Among blue-chip shares, Group Financiero Galicia rose 1.9 percent to 1.63 pesos.
Stocks have lost 10 percent in the year-to-date on a mix of local economic uncertainty, a difficult $100 billion sovereign debt restructuring and worries over US rates.
The local peso closed steady at 2.95/2.955 pesos per dollar. Traders expect the peso, which is trading at roughly the same level as the end of 2003, to remain stable in the coming weeks.