Argentine stocks closed steady on Friday, even though investors pocketed gains after Thursday's record highs, traders said. The MerVal index of 11 leading stocks ended 0.08 percent lower at 1,628.13 points, just off an all-time high of 1,629.56 points in the previous session.
Traders said the drop was just a blip in an overall bullish market. The MerVal has accumulated a gain of 2.94 percent so far in September and 18.38 percent in the year.
"It's logical for there to be some chopping at the upward movement after the MerVal tested maximum levels. This just a correction that is no cause for concern," said Diego Zabaleta of Besfamille brokerage.
Leading telecommunications firm Telecom Argentina fell 1.77 percent to 6.65 pesos while Petrobras Participaciones was off 1.54 percent to 4.46 pesos.
Trade volume was a robust 113.4 million pesos ($39 million). In the foreign exchange market, the peso gained slightly against the dollar after the central bank intervened to buy dollars, as expected. The currency closed at 2.90/2.9025 per dollar, up 0.09 percent from Thursday's close.