In the short term (2029 and 2030), the accumulated decline was up to 2.9%. Fixed-rate financial instruments in pesos performed better, just above the inflation expected by the market. The only advance was recorded by Mercado Libre, which rose 24.8% in the month, driven by the good projections presented in its quarterly report. The stocks also posted strong losses in the local market. The smallest increase occurred in the informal market, where it advanced only 0.8%.
Argentine ADRs in the United States accumulated declines of up to 33.9%, led by Bioceres, Globant, and Supervielle. The Lecaps operated with rates around 2.5%, depending on the paper, while traditional fixed-term deposits offered between 2.1% and 2.3% monthly, according to each entity. Meanwhile, parallel dollars managed to advance in February, after several months of relative stability. Thus, the S&P Merval index fell 14% in pesos and 16.8% when measured in dollars with settlement (CCL). Dollar-denominated fixed-income assets also accumulated losses during the month.
"We see the catalysts as being more related to the agreement between the Government and the International Monetary Fund and specific news related to the exit from the currency controls," says Juan Manuel Franco from Grupo SBS.
The biggest losses in February were recorded in equity assets. The largest increases occurred in the MEP, where they accumulated advances of 5.5%, and the quote remained at $1228, while in the CCL the advance was 2.9% to $1219. The monthly declines of the leading panel of the Merval reached up to 27.9%, led by the shares of Sociedad Comercial del Plata, Transener, and Supervielle. In the last 30 days, sovereign bonds in dollars fell by up to 6.7% in the medium and long term of the maturity curve (2035, 2038, 2041, and 2046).
"Investors continue to wait for catalysts that will boost local assets after the strong increases recorded in 2024. The main local assets recorded strong bearish corrections due to profit-taking, after a long period of increases and awaiting new signals from the Government regarding a new agreement with the IMF and the elimination of currency controls. At the same time, strong external pressures influenced local performance."
