BUENOS AIRES (Dow Jones)–Argentine stocks and bonds were little changed Friday in muted trade as investors continued to cast a wary eye toward the debt crisis in Europe and the U.S. supercommittee’s failure to reduce the deficit.
Argentina’s benchmark Merval stock index closed unchanged at 2,426 points. Volume totaled just 20 million pesos ($5 million).
The Global X FTSE Argentina 20 ETF, which tracks shares of Argentine companies listed on international markets, eased 0.1% to $10.47 in New York.
Despite the general malaise, Argentine electricity companies got a boost amid market speculation that the government would soon raise rate caps.
Power company Edenor (EDN, EDN.BA) shot up 9.2% to ARS1.55, while its parent holding company Transener (TRAN.BA) rose 8.6% to ARS1.26.
Faced with a shrinking fiscal surplus, the government has started to trim expensive subsidies for water, gas, electricity and public transportation.
Earlier this month, the government said it would eliminate the subsidies for a number of industries and wealthy residents.
Bonds were mixed Friday with small movements.
The 2016 PR14 bonds fell 0.5% to ARS82.25. The peso-denominated 2035 GDP warrants rose 0.8% to ARS14.82.
The peso closed weaker slightly weaker at ARS4.2635 against the dollar on the MAE local foreign-exchange wholesale market, compared with ARS4.2630 in the previous session.
-By Shane Romig, Dow Jones Newswires; 54-11-4103-6738; shane.romig@dowjones.com
Source: http://online.wsj.com