Street's Drop Hurts Shares
March 28, 2011
The Merval Index of leading shares fell 2.48 to 543.27, after falling 25.38 Monday. The broad General Index dropped 72.84 to 16713. Declining issues led advancers, 28 to 10, while nine issues settled the session unchanged. Total volume in floor-trading was 26.25 million pesos, while 152.47 million pesos changed hands in the computer-based continuous market. Like other Latin American markets, Argentine shares lost ground early before reversing course on the back of a rebounding Dow to end only slightly lower than Monday's levels. Traders said investors shrugged off the results of Tuesday's auction after 500 million pesos in three- and six-month Treasury bills sold for lower-than-expected yields. The 250 million pesos in three-month Treasury bills went for 6.86%, while another 250 million pesos in six-month paper sold at 7.32%. Investors also disregarded market gyrations over budget-tightening measures announced Friday to help close Argentina's $2.51 billion first-half deficit, traders said.
