Argentina stocks plunged in Monday's market after Libertarian President Javier Milei's party suffered a crushing defeat at the polls on Sunday, raising questions about the future of his economic reforms.
The GlobalX MSCI Argentina exchange traded fund sold off nearly 10% in midday action and fell to its lowest point since the early-April "Liberation Day" global market rout.
ARGT stock was on track for its worst loss since March 18, 2020, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Volume was on pace for its highest in at least 2-1/2 years.
While many foreign ETFs are outperforming the S&P 500 this year, ARGT stock is now down more than 12% for 2025. The ETF broke out to new highs May 12, but a 5% gain from that level vanished in three weeks, and the fund has been trending lower ever since. The chart's 50-day moving average is sloping lower and is now below the 200-day line, a bearish crossover.
U.S.-traded Argentine banks also sold off on the stock market Monday. Grupo Financiero Galicia, Banco Macro, Grupo Supervielle and Banco BBVA Argentina gapped down roughly 20% in heavy trading. All three fell to the lowest prices in more than a year.
Among other Argentina-based stocks, electric utility Central Puerto fell 13%, and cement maker Loma Negra was down 7%. MercadoLibre — which is having its best growth in Argentina — fell less than 3%. The online shopping stock remains in a 10-week-old base.
Argentina stocks had been weakening in anticipation of a potential loss for the current administration, says Alex Marenco, a frequent guest on IBD Live who was born in Argentina and follows that market. Banks in particular are all down an average of more than 60% off their highs. "It's not good for any economy when financials are being sold off," he added.
Argentina Index, Peso Plunge
The Merval stock index plummeted more than 10% at midday. Further, the Argentine peso stumbled more than 5% vs. the U.S. dollar after the election results, according to FactSet data.
With most votes counted, the left-leaning Peronist opposition party won 47% of the vote to the Milei party's 34% during Sunday's election in the major province of Buenos Aires. The vote gap was wider than polls predicted and shook financial markets.
The province is the country's largest and a Peronist stronghold. The weekend's results are viewed as a bellwether for national midterm elections next month.
Milei accepted defeat but vowed to accelerate his Libertarian policies. He acknowledged mistakes that hurt his party ahead of the election, including a corruption scandal. Local press published leaked audio in which the chief of Argentina's disability agency described alleged kickbacks benefiting Milei's sister.
Using aggressive moves, Milei slashed public spending, fired thousands of public employees and began a deregulation campaign. His policies brought inflation down sharply, falling to a rate of 1.5% in May, the slowest level in more than five years.
