BUENOS AIRES (Dow Jones)–Argentine stocks dropped Thursday as investors expressed renewed fears that the ongoing crisis in Europe will spread and affect the global economy.
The Merval index fell about 4% to 2,519.01 points in volume totaling ARS52 million ($12.22 million).
«The continuity of the adverse climate abroad, given that interest rates in the euro zone continue to be under pressure and that the crisis is becoming more of a global contagion, predictably affected local assets, which were unable to do anything but accompany the declines abroad,» Estudio Ber said in a report.
All Merval stocks closed lower.
The food company Molinos Rio de la Plata SA (MOLI.BA) fell 7.4% to ARS30.10, leading the declines. It was followed by the auto parts maker Mirgor (MIRG.BA), which fell 7.3% to ARS90.80. The power transmitter Transener (TRAN.BA) fell 6.2% to ARS1.21.
The Global X FTSE Argentina 20 ETF, which tracks shares of Argentine companies listed on international markets, fell 4.1% to $11.05 in New York.
Bonds did badly, too.
The price of the benchmark peso-denominated 2033 bond fell 4.2% to ARS114, yielding about 14.3%.
The peso weakened a tad to ARS4.2538 on the MAE local foreign-exchange wholesale market, compared with ARS4.258 in the previous session.
-By Taos Turner, Dow Jones Newswires; 5411-4103-6728; taos.turner@dowjones.com
Source: http://online.wsj.com