© Archyde.com/MARCOS BRINDICCI
A man looks at a screen with the stock market trend in the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange
BUENOS AIRES, March 25 (Archyde.com) – Argentina’s bonds and shares rose on Friday due to a natural rearrangement of prices in line with the final approval by the IMF board of an agreement to restructure a million-dollar debt and following external improvements the day before when the local square remained inactive for a holiday.
The Fund approved a $45 billion program for Argentina following more than a year of negotiations, three sources told Archyde.com, allowing the country to avoid a costly default with the lender.
The reduction of the fiscal deficit, the rise in interest rates and the cut in energy subsidies are key requirements of the agreement, which does not require labor or pension system reforms.
“Finally, all the formal steps with the IMF were closed and now a new stage begins for Argentina, although what is coming is very difficult to comply with, but at least a breath of oxygen is achieved and a worrying ‘default’ is avoided,” he summarized. a banking analyst.
The agreement establishes a grace period of four and a half years, and extends disbursement payments to 10 years, so that the South American country will begin to pay off the debt in 2026 and end in 2034.
* Over-the-counter sovereign bonds improved by 0.6% on average, following four consecutive sessions in decline, which made it tempting for the market to recompose portfolios, basically in the category of securities tied to inflation following the 4.7% rise February.
* The Argentine country risk prepared by the JP. Morgan bank fell 10 units to 1,806 basic points towards 2000 GMT, with support at the level of 1,800 points to be tested immediately, according to analysts.
* Banking sources in Buenos Aires discounted the green light for the agreement with the IMF and now a prompt disbursement of some 9,800 million dollars is expected, of which some 6,800 million would enter the reserves of the central bank (BCRA) following a pending payment .
* The S&P Merval index of the Buenos Aires stock market improved a sustained 3.22%, to 93,010.48 points as a provisional closing, led by financial and energy companies.
* The wholesale peso lost 0.19%, at 110.38/110.39 per dollar, with liquidity regulated by the BCRA that ended the day with sales of some 20 million dollars. Thus, in the week it yielded regarding 92 million dollars and its positive accumulated for March was reduced to regarding 415 million.
* The BCRA might raise its reference rate once more in April if March inflation consolidates around 5%, a source with access to the entity’s board decisions recently told Archyde.com.
* The weight in the informal or ‘blue’ band fell to 202 units, and in the alternative segments it was slightly weaker at 200.6 in the stock market “counted with liquidation” (CCL) and 200.4 for the influential ” MEP dollar”.
* The political tensions within the coalition of the Argentine Government and the difficult situation in Ukraine following the Russian invasion that triggered the prices of raw materials, create a climate of caution among investors.
(Reporting by Jorge Otaola; Editing by Walter Bianchi)