DOLLAR-DENOMINATED SOVEREIGN DEBT HAD A NEGATIVE SESSION, DECLINING 0.8%, tracking the poor performance of emerging market debt. The short end under both legislations led the declines, with drops of up to 1.2% on the GD30, while the short segment fell 0.6% on average. With this performance, country risk rose again 17 bps to 549 bps, failing to decouple from LATAM risk despite a BCRA that continues to purchase reserves steadily. Meanwhile, Bopreales differentiated themselves by rising 0.3%.

ARS-DENOMINATED DEBT HAD A NEGATIVE SESSION, pushing bond yields higher, in a session in which the exchange rate was more strained. CER bonds were the most punished, falling 1.2%, followed by the fixed-rate curve, which retreated 1.1% dragged down by the long end, with rates rising above 2% EMR starting from the October letter, when the day before almost the entire curve was yielding below those levels. Duales followed with a 0.9% decline, while dollar-linked instruments fell 0.4%, tracking the rise in exchange rates.

THE OFFICIAL EXCHANGE RATE ROSE 0.7%, closing at $1,387.7, standing 21.9% below the upper band. Financial dollars also climbed: the MEP advanced 0.9% and the CCL 0.8%, closing at $1,430.6 and $1,476.8, respectively, while the spread continued to compress to 3.2%. The rise in exchange rates came as the BCRA accelerated its purchase of foreign currency in the MLC, with acquisitions of USD 194 M. With these operations, the BCRA has accumulated purchases of USD 2,299 M for the month, while year-to-date the total reaches USD 6,681 M. Meanwhile, the stock of gross reserves rose by USD 326 M and closed at USD 46,167 M.

THE MERVAL DECLINED 2.3% IN PESOS AND 2.8% IN DOLLARS, standing at USD 1,912. The largest declines were seen in the Financial, Construction and Industrial sectors, while Energy was the only sector to post gains. Among local panel stocks, BBVA (-7.4%), Supervielle (-6.5%) and Banco Galicia (-6.3%) led the declines, while Aluar (+1.3%), Pampa (+0.5%) and YPF (+0.1%) posted the largest gains. Among stocks trading in New York, the average fell 3.2%, with Globant (-9.2%), Bioceres (-7.3%) and BBVA (-6.9%) as the main losers, while Vista (+2.3%), YPF (+0.4%) and Pampa (+0.3%) led the gains.

THE CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX (ICC) PREPARED BY UNIVERSIDAD DI TELLA FELL AGAIN IN APRIL: it retreated 5.7% m/m and reached 39.64 points, its lowest level since July 2024. It is the third consecutive month of decline and the fifth in the year-on-year comparison, which shows a 10.1% YoY drop. By region, CABA fell 6.7% m/m and GBA 1.5% m/m. The durable goods and real estate subindex was the hardest hit, with a 9.5% m/m decline. Since the January 2025 peak, the index has accumulated a 16.3% drop.