Argentina Peso Calm Holds In The Morning As The Merval Stalls
Key Points
- January 19 opened with tight gaps between official, blue, and financial dollar rates.
- Reported BCRA dollar buying and near-50% peso yields are the main stabilizers behind the move.
- Equities stayed in consolidation, with oil-linked names weaker and banks relatively resilient.
Banco Nación opened at 1,405 bid and 1,455 offer. A wholesale-style reference sat near 1,429. The blue dollar was about 1,485–1,505. MEP was near 1,472.15 and CCL near 1,519.73. A separate “card” rate remained far higher at 1,891.50.
Using the retail sell as the anchor, the blue premium was about 3.4%. MEP was about 1.2% and CCL about 4.4%. That is a narrow brecha by local standards.
Local reporting described a fourth straight day of official-dollar declines into Friday. It linked the move to heavy central-bank buying. Reuters said the BCRA bought $125 million on Friday. It bought $468 million for the week.
Reserves stood near $44.607 billion on provisional figures. The other pillar was peso carry. Short Lecaps reportedly placed around 50% annualized offered an incentive to stay in pesos.
U.S. markets were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The dollar index hovered near 99.11. It ended last week around 99.38. Risk sentiment stayed unsettled by renewed tariff talk.
On 4-hour USD/ARS, RSI was near 13.7 and MACD remained deeply negative. On the daily, RSI was about 35.7. The weekly RSI near 56.3 still fit a cooling uptrend.
The S&P Merval stood near 2,933,230 after a 0.22% Friday rise. Volume was about 47.4 million shares. It fell about 5.1% from January 9 to 16 and about 3.9% month-to-date. IEB said the index has been sideways around 2,000 in dollar terms.
It argued the post-election surge mostly repriced risk. El Cronista highlighted oil-led weakness, with banks holding up better. In the U.S., ARGT traded recently in the low 90s. ETF data showed about -$27.8 million net flow over the past month.
Top Winners
Banks and rate-sensitive financials; peso carry in short Lecaps; importers; short-duration bond holders; firms trimming FX hedges.
Top Losers
Oil and energy equities; dollar hoarders; exporters delaying conversions; inflation hedges; Argentina ETFs and ADRs.
This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Argentine markets and Latin American financial news.
For regional context, see the Brazil’s Ibovespa report for the same date: Brazil’s Ibovespa.
For regional context, see the Chile’s IPSA report for the same date: Chile’s IPSA.
Key Facts
Live Market IntelligenceArgentina — Live Market Board
Rio Times · Live Market Intelligence
Argentina — Live Market Board
+0.00%
204,302.33
-0.74%
64,653.33
-1.01%
10,999.64
-1.47%
2,824,123
+0.00%
2,534.92
-2.09%
60,766.81
-1.71%
| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MERVAL | 2,824,123 | +0.00% | +30.51% | 3,022,485 | 3,042,365 | 2,991,150 | — |
| USD/ARS | 1,493 | +0.10% | +12.96% | 1,491 | 1,494 | 1,480 | — |
| YPF | 7,810 | +0.26% | +72.84% | 7,790 | 7,850 | 7,600 | 1,763,858 |
| GGAL | 6,980 | -0.78% | +1.82% | 7,035 | 7,115 | 6,920 | 1,564,062 |
| PAMPA | 5,115 | +0.69% | +26.70% | 5,080 | 5,140 | 5,000 | 721,190 |
| TXAR | 747.50 | -2.35% | +18.67% | 765.50 | 770.00 | 742.50 | 771,892 |
| ALUAR | 938.00 | -1.21% | +29.83% | 949.50 | 951.00 | 932.50 | 135,426 |
| TGS | 8,870 | -0.17% | +15.05% | 8,885 | 9,075 | 8,720 | 143,546 |
| CEPU | 2,156 | +1.84% | +28.36% | 2,117 | 2,165 | 2,086 | 404,146 |
| MIRGOR | 1,650 | -1.20% | -92.90% | 1,670 | 1,670 | 1,635 | 20,877 |
| COME | 40.93 | -0.73% | -30.47% | 41.23 | 41.60 | 40.50 | 4,258,884 |
| LOMA NEGRA | 3,130 | +0.08% | +5.80% | 3,128 | 3,205 | 3,090 | 182,992 |
| BYMA | 275.00 | -1.70% | +35.14% | 279.75 | 282.50 | 272.00 | 1,409,575 |
| TELECOM ARG | 4,233 | -0.70% | +55.19% | 4,263 | 4,335 | 4,160 | 31,896 |
| GLOBANT | 38.10 | -2.26% | -49.65% | 38.98 | 38.70 | 36.77 | 793,552 |
| MERCADOLIBRE | 1,870 | -3.59% | -20.71% | 1,940 | 1,927 | 1,870 | 329,640 |
— Deep Dive
— For the complete picture, read our in-depth guide: Latin America Stock Markets 2026: Ibovespa, Merval, COLCAP, IPSA and IPC Guide
This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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