Argentine stocks closed slightly higher in light trading on Friday as institutional investors stayed on the sidelines, traders said. The MerVal index of 12 leading shares inched up 0.49 percent to 1,689.65 points, reducing its losses for the month to 1.25 percent.
Trading volume was a lowly 34.7 million pesos ($11.2 million). "The market failed to inspire investors, who seem to be looking for bargain opportunities," said Ricardo Maied, an analyst at Federal Bursatil brokers. "It was a day of selective buying with interest centered in Tenaris." Shares in steel tube maker Tenaris, the most heavily weighted stock on the MerVal with 31 percent, closed virtually unchanged at 58.4 pesos.
The Argentine peso closed steady at 3.1025/3.105 to the US dollar as the central bank continued to buy dollars with an eye on upcoming debt payments Argentina faces on August 3.