Argentina's stocks closed lower on Friday after investors reacted negatively to results posted by Group Financiero Galicia, traders said. The MerVal index of 11 leading shares lost 2.07 percent to close at 1257.6 points. Shares closed down 5 percent this week, but they are still up 17 percent this year. Trading volume was a healthy 82 million pesos ($27.7 million) despite technical glitches that ate up one hour of trading time.
Group Financiero Galicia, which accounts for 26 percent of the MerVal index, shed 5 percent to end at 2.27 pesos a share. "It is clear that the MerVal's slump had to do with Group Galicia's losses. Investors did not like the adjustments made to results from the first two quarters based on different accounting standards," said Horacio Corneille, a trader at Corneille brokerage.
Group Financiero Galicia, which controls Banco Galicia, had posted a first-half loss of 112 million pesos ($38 million).
But when the company released its third-quarter results on Thursday after market close, it restated its first-half losses, putting them at 40.9 million pesos.
Traders said that still-negative result, combined with a third-quarter net loss of 33.3 million pesos, disappointed investors.
"Group Galicia's losses ended up dragging down other shares, which could in the short-term take the MerVal down to 1190 or 1200 points," Corneille added.
In the foreign exchange market, the peso closed steady at 2.9575/2.9625 per dollar in a quiet session marked by scant investor interest.