Buenos Aires Stock Exchange Closes Down 0.70%

The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange experienced a downturn on Friday, with the benchmark S&P Merval index closing down 0.70% at 2,979,471.81 units. The broader S&P BYMA general index also saw a slight decrease, falling 0.69% to 128,456,730 points.

Among the leading companies, Transportadora de Gas del Norte registered the largest drop, falling 4%, followed by IRSA, which declined by 2.3%. On the other hand, Loma Negra saw a modest increase of 1.2%, and Telecom gained 0.7%.

In the bond market, Argentine sovereign bonds denominated in dollars showed positive movement, with some rising as much as 1.1%. However, the country's risk index, a measure of perceived investment risk, climbed to 512 basis points.

The currency markets displayed mixed signals. The US dollar remained stable at 1,535 pesos for public sales at the state-run Banco Nación and held at 1,512 pesos in the wholesale market. In the parallel or 'blue' market, the dollar was trading at 1,555 pesos for sales. Meanwhile, the 'dólar contado con liquidación' (CCL), which involves converting pesos to dollars through stock and bond transactions, rose to 1,508.15 pesos. The 'dólar MEP' (dólar bolsa), another dollar-linked exchange rate, saw a slight increase of 0.1%, reaching 1,537.49 pesos.