Argentina Markets: Merval & the Peso — September 23, 2026
Key Facts
- Merval ends flat, closing at 2,997,659.41 points, down 0.04% after a much steeper fall the day before
- Gas and telecom lead, with Transportadora de Gas del Norte up 3% and Telecom Argentina up 1.2%
- The catch, country risk rose for a seventh straight session to 555 basis points, the highest since 5 May 2026
- Peso holds its line, with the wholesale reference rate steady at 1,514 pesos per US dollar
- Parallel market stays close, as the blue dollar ended at 1,555 pesos per US dollar
- Bonds keep slipping, with hard-dollar sovereign debt down 0.9% on average
Today’s Focus
Argentina’s S&P Merval, the benchmark stock index in Buenos Aires, closed Tuesday at 2,997,659.41 points. That was a fall of just 0.04%, leaving the index a whisker below the three million mark.
Trade date: Tuesday 22 September 2026. The quiet close followed a 0.76% drop on Monday that first pushed the index under three million.
Transportadora de Gas del Norte, a gas pipeline operator, was the best performer with a 3% gain. Telecom Argentina added 1.2%, while Cresud and IRSA fell 1.5% and 1.4%.
The real story sat in the debt market. Argentina’s country risk premium rose 21 basis points to 555, its seventh consecutive increase.
The peso barely moved. The wholesale reference rate held at 1,514 pesos per US dollar.
What matters today. The equity market went nowhere while the price of Argentine risk kept climbing.
01 The session in one read
The S&P Merval is Argentina’s main stock index, quoted in pesos and made up of the country’s most traded companies. It ended Tuesday at 2,997,659.41 points, down 0.04%.
The index opened at 2,998,960 points and traded between 2,960,130 and 3,012,910 during the session. Buyers pushed it back above three million intraday before the close slipped under the mark again.
The broader S&P BYMA General index fell 0.01% to 130,482,832.39 points. Both readings describe a market that simply held still.
Monday had been the bruising session. The Merval fell 0.76% then, dropping below the three million level.
Argentina’s Central Bank sets a wholesale reference, which on 22 September 2026 was a rate of 1,514 to the US dollar. The retail rate at Banco de la Nación stayed at 1,535 pesos per US dollar, a fifth session unchanged.
The equity board was almost motionless, but Argentina’s borrowing cost kept climbing for a seventh session. Sovereign bonds in dollars lost 0.9% on average, which is where the pressure is showing. What to watch is whether that debt-market strain eventually pulls equities down with it.
02 The day’s numbers
| Measure | Level | Change | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P Merval (Argentina) | 2,997,659.41 | −0.04% | Just below three million; about 65% above a year earlier |
| S&P BYMA General | 130,482,832.39 | −0.01% | The wider board was flat too |
| Country risk (JP Morgan) | 555 bp | +21 bp | Seventh straight rise; highest since 5 May 2026 |
| Peso, wholesale reference | 1,514 | 0.00% | Central Bank reference, steady on the day |
| Peso, blue (parallel) | 1,555 | +0.3% | Informal rate, about 1.3% above the retail official |
Wall Street was calm. The Nasdaq closed at a record 27,244 points, up 0.5%, while the Dow Jones fell 0.4%, according to Infobae.
The VIX, Wall Street’s fear gauge, dropped 4.44% to 14.21. A reading that low says global investors were not the source of Argentina’s problem.
Trading in the spot foreign exchange market stayed firm at US$609.1 million. Central Bank reserves ended at US$49.414 billion, down US$281 million on the day. Rio Times · Live Market Intelligence
Live Market IntelligenceArgentina — Live Market Board
Argentina — Live Market Board
Instrument Last Change YoY Prev. High Low Volume
MERVAL
2,848,945
—
-10.97%
2,859,051
—
—
—
USD/ARS
1,545
-0.03%
+8.82%
1,546
1,545
1,545
—
YPF
6,505
+0.46%
+15.44%
6,475
6,675
6,360
708,971
GGAL
4,950
-0.95%
-40.39%
4,998
5,140
4,933
548,462
PAMPA
4,290
+0.29%
-17.29%
4,278
4,390
4,235
351,604
TXAR
693.00
-1.28%
-19.41%
702.00
709.50
673.50
619,637
ALUAR
774.50
+0.58%
-29.51%
770.00
784.50
771.00
192,215
TGS
7,240
-0.55%
-17.93%
7,280
7,450
7,120
44,794
CEPU
1,678
+1.76%
-25.09%
1,649
1,678
1,600
129,716
MIRGOR
1,740
+0.00%
-92.00%
1,740
1,780
1,695
3,523
COME
31.18
+2.20%
-49.58%
30.51
31.40
30.76
3,810,293
LOMA NEGRA
2,978
+1.79%
-12.78%
2,925
3,003
2,853
34,896
BYMA
198.00
+0.00%
-32.82%
198.00
201.25
193.50
2,776,937
TELECOM ARG
3,340
-1.18%
-8.15%
3,380
3,490
3,293
11,295
GLOBANT
48.84
+3.02%
-22.36%
47.41
48.86
46.75
706,761
MERCADOLIBRE
1,490
-2.77%
-29.02%
1,533
1,523
1,470
584,446
Live Company IntelligenceYPF Sociedad Anonima — the full investor dossier
03 Why it moved — steady stocks, a rising risk premium
There was no single shock on Tuesday. The session was shaped by a debt market that keeps weakening and an equity market that refuses to follow.
Country risk measures the extra yield investors demand to hold Argentine debt rather than US Treasuries. At 555 basis points it is the highest since 5 May 2026, on JP Morgan’s index.
Infobae reported the indicator touched 556 points intraday before settling at 555. Hard-dollar sovereign bonds lost 0.9% on average, which Infobae linked to the slow pace of official dollar purchases.
Equities, meanwhile, found support in regulated names. Gas and telecom shares rose while property and farming stocks fell, a defensive pattern rather than a broad retreat.
04 The day’s movers
| Driver | Level / Move | Change | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transportadora de Gas del Norte | up 3% | +3.0% | Best performer in the leaders panel |
| Telecom Argentina | up 1.2% | +1.2% | Second-best gainer on the day |
| Cresud | down 1.5% | −1.5% | Weakest of the Buenos Aires leaders |
| IRSA | down 1.4% | −1.4% | Property group also lower |
| YPF (New York listing) | up 0.5% | +0.5% | Rebounded while most ADRs fell |
Transportadora de Gas del Norte led the leaders panel with a 3% gain. Telecom Argentina followed at 1.2%, according to closing data reported by the EFE news agency.
On the losing side, Cresud, a farming and property group, fell 1.5% and IRSA fell 1.4%. Both are real-estate-linked names rather than energy or banking bellwethers.
Argentine companies also trade in New York through ADRs, which are US-listed receipts that let Americans own foreign shares in dollars. Most of them fell, led by Cresud at down 2.7% and Globant at down 2.3%.
YPF’s ADR was the exception, rebounding 0.5%, while Vista Energy lost 1.3%. Infobae reported those moves after the New York close.
05 The regional scoreboard
| Index | Country | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Ibovespa | Brazil | +0.44% |
| MSCI COLCAP | Colombia | +0.90% |
| S&P Merval | Argentina | −0.04% |
Argentina was the only one of the three to end lower, and only barely. Brazil’s Ibovespa closed at 187,422 points, up 0.44%, while Colombia’s COLCAP gained 0.90% to 2,588.64.
That looks like rotation within the region rather than money leaving it. Please check the live market board embedded above this piece for the freshest regional closes.
06 The technical picture
The three million mark is a round number, not a technical support level. Losing it on two consecutive closes still gives chart-watchers something to point at.
The index remains about 65% above where it closed on 22 September 2025, at 1,811,040 points. It is also well below its 52-week high of 3,354,280 points, set on 11 June 2026, according to Rava Bursátil.
Tuesday’s high of 3,012,910 points shows buyers are still willing to test the level. Reclaiming it on a closing basis is the next thing the bulls need.
07 What to watch
- Country risk: Whether the seven-session climb to 555 basis points stalls or keeps running
- Sovereign bonds: Hard-dollar debt has been sliding; a steadier tone there would ease the pressure on shares
- The peso: The wholesale rate has been pinned at 1,514 pesos per US dollar, and any step change would matter
- The three million line: Trading resumes on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, with that level the first test
Background: Merval Falls 0.04% as Argentine ADRs Slide Across Latin America.
Background: Argentina Inflation Falls to 1.7 Percent, Lowest in 14 Months.
More: Argentina news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Merval?
The Merval is Argentina’s main stock index, tracking the largest and most traded companies listed on the Buenos Aires exchange. It is quoted in Argentine pesos.
Why did the Merval barely move on 22 September 2026?
Gains in gas and telecom shares offset falls in property and farming names. The index ended at 2,997,659.41 points, down 0.04%.
What happened to the peso?
The wholesale reference rate was steady at 1,514 pesos per US dollar. The blue, or parallel, rate closed at 1,555 pesos per US dollar.
Why does country risk matter?
It is the extra yield investors demand to hold Argentine debt instead of US Treasuries. At 555 basis points it was the highest since 5 May 2026.
Market data: BYMA; closing figures reported by EFE and Infobae; historical series from Rava Bursátil
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error
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