Stocks rise on Wall Street, boosting Argentine companies

U.S. stock markets were experiencing a rebound this Friday, with increases between 2.6% and 2.1% in the main indices, after a week marked by massive sell-offs on Wall Street.

However, uncertainty persists due to tariff policies and recent data reflecting a deterioration in consumer confidence and an increase in inflation expectations.

The impact on markets and the Argentine Merval

The rebound on Wall Street also benefits Argentine assets. At 1:40 PM, ADRs and shares of national companies traded in New York showed widespread increases, with Transportadora Gas del Sur (+6.4%) leading the way.

In the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, the S&P Merval index was up 3.5%,  standing at 2,310,000 points, after having retreated 1.79% in the previous session.

"The Merval remains at Wednesday's high, around 2,263,000 points, but the 55-day exponential moving average at 2,353,000 points could act as resistance", explained Alexander Londoño, from ActivTraders.

Meanwhile,  sovereign bonds in dollars averaged a rise of 0.2%,  and Argentina's country risk measured by JP Morgan fell eight units to 739 basis points.

Global factors and uncertainty in the U.S.

The rebound on Wall Street occurs in a context of global volatility. The S&P 500 fell into correction territory this week, with a loss of 4 trillion dollars, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq had already entered correction in previous days.

President Donald Trump and his tariff policies have raised concerns among investors. "Although we can get used to chaos, it still seems like U.S. policy is being applied in a disorderly manner", noted Art Hogan, from Riley Wealth Management, in a conversation with Reuters.

Additionally, gold surpassed 3,000 dollars for the first time, reflecting the movement of investors toward safe-haven assets amid economic uncertainty.

Expectations in Argentina: IMF and inflation

Investors are also alert to the Argentine Government's negotiations with the IMF, seeking an agreement that could inject more than 15 billion dollars in several disbursements.

"The IMF doesn't want the dollars to be taken by the market, so there will be partial disbursements with quarterly monitoring. This means that the lifting of the currency controls won't be immediate", explained Salvador Di Stefano, financial analyst, to Infobae.

Meanwhile, INDEC will publish this afternoon the inflation data for February. According to Reuters estimates, the consumer price index would have risen 2.4%, a slight uptick compared to January.

"Inflation expectations have shown resistance to decline, despite the control of the official exchange rate", concluded the Neix consultancy.

The market closely follows these indicators, in a scenario where the global context and  local economic policy decisions will be key to defining the trend for the coming months.