Latin American Markets Follow Wall Street Lower

International markets followed Wall Street lower Friday, and the damage was particularly acute in Latin America.

Argentina’s Merval index fell 20.24 points, or 6.1%, to 314.50--its biggest one-day slide in more than a month--on concern an aid package from the International Monetary Fund may be delayed.

Mexico’s Bolsa index fell 226.69 points, or 3.5%, to 6,218.46, and Brazil’s Bovespa index lost 465.26 points, or 3.4%, to 13,044.21 as 55 of the index’s 56 stocks dropped.

The IMF said talks with Argentina on a new aid package probably would stretch into at least next week, damping expectations that Argentina would soon clinch as much as $9 billion in aid to replenish reserves and help restore confidence that the country can avoid default.

“The conditions have to be right for the aid, and I’m sure the IMF is asking for all sorts of reforms in return for more money--rightly so, too,” said Scott Sadler, emerging- market portfolio manager with Wachovia Asset Management.

Argentina’s benchmark stock index gained 5.7% the previous two days on expectations the IMF might approve an aid package before the end of the week. But with Friday’s loss, the index is off 25% this year.

In Mexico, shares dropped for a third day after the government earlier in the week said second-quarter gross domestic product fell 0.3%, pushing the economy into a nine-month recession.

“Mexico is not immune to global market pressure,” said Christopher Palmer of Gartmore Investment Management in London. “Investors are taking a look at the assumptions they’ve made in Mexico.”

In Brazil, shares also fell for a third day, as a range of company-specific problems combined to depress share prices.

Markets in other parts of the world also tumbled Friday. Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 0.6%, Germany’s DAX index dropped 2.6%, France’s CAC-40 fell 2.2%, and Britain’s FTSE-100 lost 0.9%.