Argentine stocks inch higher on selective buying
July 5th, 2008 | by admin |BUENOS AIRES, July 4 (Reuters) - Argentine stocks inchedhigher in light trade on Friday on selective buying in BuenosAires-listed shares of Brazilian state-run energy companyPetrobras and leading bank Banco Patagonia.
The benchmark MerVal stock index rose 0.4 percentto close at 2,006.44 points, cutting its losses for the monthto 4.81 percent.
Trade volume was a slack $4.5 million, the lowest levelsince September 2007.
“There was little activity because of the holiday in theUnited States. Shares that moved belonged to companies thatdon’t trade in New York,” said Leopoldo Olivari, a trader atBacque brokerage.
Banco Patagonia (BPAT.BA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) climbed 4 percent to 2.08 pesoswhile Petrobras (APBR.BA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)(PETR4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) climbed 0.86 percent to105.5 pesos.
Of active issues, 21 rose, 21 fell and 14 were unchanged.
The Fourth of July holiday in the United States broughttrade in Argentine bonds on the local debt market to astandstill, traders said.
In the foreign exchange market, the peso closed mixed.
In formal interbank trade, the peso <ARS=RASL> closed flatat 3.025/3.0275 per dollar. In informal trade between foreignexchange houses, as measured by Reuters, the peso strengthened0.41 percent to close at 3.05/3.0525 per dollar <ARSB=>. (Reporting by Jorge Otaola and Walter Bianchi; Writing byKevin Gray; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
