Argentina’s Merval index rises, peso weakens to 1,514 per dollar
Argentina’s S&P Merval stock index in Buenos Aires rose by 0.53% on Wednesday to 3,024,971.01 points, extending gains for a third consecutive session. At the same time, the Argentine peso weakened by 0.2% in the wholesale market to 1,514 per US dollar.
As The Rio Times reports, the dollar strengthened against the peso for the fourth consecutive day. At Banco Nación, the retail dollar selling rate stood at 1,530 pesos, while the “blue” dollar traded near 1,560 pesos on the unofficial market.
Trading leaders and laggards
Shares of high-voltage power grid operator Transener posted the largest gains on the local market, rising 4.9%. Securities of gas distribution company Metrogas added 3%. Meanwhile, shares of aluminum producer Aluar fell by 2.1%, according to the publication.
Overall, stock performance was uneven: four of the 14 companies in the review recorded gains. The utilities sector rose by an average of 1.27%, while the financial sector declined by 1.07%.
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Bonds and central bank reform
Argentina’s country risk indicator increased by 1% to 517 points, while prices of Globales government bonds fell by 0.2–0.4%. This indicated more cautious investor sentiment toward debt securities despite the rise in the stock index.
The foreign exchange market was affected by end-of-month demand for dollars from importers and companies. On Thursday, Argentina’s Treasury was due to hold an auction at which it needed to refinance maturities of approximately 12.6 trillion pesos.
The lower house of parliament also gave initial approval to a reform of the Central Bank’s charter by 144 votes to 102. The bill provides for ending temporary central bank advances to the Treasury, banning new non-transferable debt obligations, and simplifying the procedure for removing the regulator’s directors. The document was submitted to the Senate for consideration.
