Argentine stocks and bonds moved with a mixed trend this Wednesday at a time when attention is focused on political issues, ahead of the Senate’s treatment of the call Base Lawpromoted by the ruling party, and prior to a massive general strike called by the unions this Thursday, in repudiation of the initiative.
The stock market benchmark S&P Merval de Buenos Aires could not sustain the gains and closed in negative territory with a 0.9% down, at 1,450,498 pointsafter losing 2.2% on Tuesday, when the panel of leading stocks marked a nominal intraday record level of 1,505,718 points.
Among Argentine ADRs and shares traded in dollars on Wall Street there were again mixed closings. They stood out IRSA (+4.6%) and Telecom (+4.4%).
Sovereign bonds were traded in the Electronic Open Market (MAE) with a 1.4% decrease in their average in pesos. Bonds in dollars subtracted 0.5% on average, according to the Global Exchange reference on Wall Street, while the risk country measured by the JP Morgan bank, it advanced 13 units for Argentina, in the 1,234 points basics at 5:30 p.m.
The libertarian president Javier Milei seeks that Congress endorse its Government plan through the approval in the Senate of a broad fiscal plan and deregulation of the economy, which seeks to encourage general business after it was approved in the Chamber of Deputies last week.
“We believe that the approval of these laws combined with the ability to build consensus through dialogue with other forces helps answer the underlying questions regarding the sustainability of the adjustment and, ultimately, of Argentina’s ‘investment case’ ”reported Adcap Securities.
In this framework, the country’s main union centers called for a general strike on Thursday against the adjustment policies promoted by Milei.
“While the international climate affects the performance of our bonds, local factors also influence. In this regard, the evolution of the treatment of the ‘Bases Law’ and the fiscal package in the Senate will be crucial,” a specialist told Reuters.
The Industrial Manufacturing Production Index (IPIM) of Argentina plummeted a strong 21.2% year-on-year in March, in the midst of a recessionary process in the domestic economy. This is the worst monthly figure since May 2020 when it collapsed by 26.2% in the middle of the pandemic.
The volume operated in the cash segment of the wholesale market reached USD 374.1 million this Wednesday, with purchases made by the Central Bank for USD 231 million, 61.7% of the total businesses. It was the largest amount of official purchases since April 22.
The entity raised the absorption of foreign currency to USD 820 million in the first tranche of May. On the other hand, the international reserves gained USD 244 millionto 28,032 millionin a wheel with slight declines for the Chinese yuan (-0.1%) and gold (-0.2%) against the US dollar.
He free dollar reversed the drop of five pesos experienced in the morning and ended the operation at $1,040 for sale. With a wholesale dollar that rises one peso, to $881.50, the exchange gap adjusts to 18 percent.
“Exchange controls are maintained because they allow the Central Bank to accumulate reserves and at the same time, control both the nominal exchange rate for commercial operations and the exchange rate counted with settlement,” explained the former Minister of Economy. Sunday Cavallo.
“The accumulation of reserves is achieved because exporters are obliged to sell the dollars they generate to the Central Bank and the central bank decides, in practice, how many dollars it will sell to importers,” he said.
On the stock market, financial dollars fell for the second day. The “cash with settlement” moved away from the threshold of 1,100 pesos, to $1,076.38 through bonds, and $1,080.88 in the average of shares.
The Economist Rodrigo Alvarez He estimated that “the stocks are here to stay for a long time” and estimated that “the Government is using the exchange rate as an (inflationary) anchor.”
