On Friday afternoon, Argentina experienced a new turning point in its economic path. In a day full of anticipation and following a much-anticipated joint press conference between the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, and the President of the Central Bank, Santiago Bausili, the lifting of the currency controls was officially announced. Accompanied by a series of structural reforms in the dollar's floating regime, the announcement marked a turning point: the markets' response was swift.
In the aftermarket of Wall Street, that is, in the extended operations after the formal close of the trading day, Argentine stocks experienced a significant rise, deepening the bullish rally already observed during regular hours. Of the 21 national companies listed on the New York market, 17 recorded gains, standing out:
.Grupo Galicia (GGAL): +9.32%
.YPF: +8.89%
.Corporación América (CAAP): +8.77%
.Central Puerto (CEPU): +7.10%
.Banco Macro (BMA): +5.59%
The average of the stocks that operated in the rise reached 4.74% during the aftermarket, a more than significant figure considering that many had already climbed up to 16% during the regular session.
Meanwhile, Mercado Libre (MELI), Tenaris (TS), and Ternium (TX) showed no changes compared to the formal close. In the case of Edenor, which appeared with a rise of 12.79%, there were no subsequent operations, so that variation correplied to the regular market.
The new exchange scheme implies a float within moving bands, with a dollar that will start trading between $1,000 and $1,400, as confirmed by the Central Bank. Additionally, the blended dollar was eliminated, restrictions for individuals and legal entities were relaxed, and the disbursement of USD 12 billion by the IMF was confirmed, as part of a total agreement of USD 20 billion.
The magnitude of the reforms did not go unnoticed by investors. Friday's financial day already showed signs of optimism: the S&P Merval climbed 6.5%, reaching 2,248,803 points, while sovereign bonds in dollars rose on average by 1.8% and the country risk fell to 874 basis points, one of the lowest levels of the last year.
