Argentina Markets: Merval & the Peso — July 4, 2026

Argentina · Markets

The Big Three

—YPF ruled the tape at +2.1% on $3m turnover YPFD was both a top gainer and the single most-traded name, drawing more money than the next two names combined as triple-digit-oil optimism and Argentina’s $25bn Vaca Muerta RIGI filing kept the energy champion the market’s focal point.

—Financials, not energy, delivered the biggest percentage pops BYMA (+2.3%) and Banco Macro/BMA (+2.1%) topped the domestic leaderboard alongside YPFD, a sign that money is rotating back into rate-sensitive banks as reform momentum builds — even if their turnover trailed YPF.

—The index sits 10.8% below its 52-week high and the peso near the band’s floor The ARGT proxy closed 91.45 (+0.37%), still down 10.8% from its 102.57 high, while USD/ARS at 1,488 is just 0.3% off its weakest-ever 1,492 — the tension foreign buyers must price.

Index

91.45

+0.37%

ARGT proxy; -10.8% vs 52w high (range 66.80-102.57)

USD/ARS

1,488

-0.07%

Peso firm; near 52w-weak 1,492 (range 1,256-1,492)

YPFD

+2.1%

$3m turnover

Most-traded name and a top gainer

BYMA

+2.3%

gainer

Biggest domestic percentage move

BMA

+2.1%

gainer

Banco Macro leads the bank rotation

GGAL

+0.8%

$1m turnover

Galicia among the money leaders

VIST

+1.7%

$1m turnover

Vista Energy tracks the Vaca Muerta thesis

S&P 500

7,483

+0.00%

Flat US tape; -1.7% vs 52w high

Market

Last

Day

MSCI Argentina (ARGT proxy)

91.45

+0.37%

S&P 500

7,483

+0.00%

USD/ARS

1,488

-0.07%

Session at a glance

Instrument

Close

Move

Note

ARGT (Argentina proxy)

91.45

+0.37%

10.8% below 52w high of 102.57

USD/ARS

1,488

-0.07%

0.3% from weakest-ever 1,492

YPFD

—

+2.1%

Top gainer and turnover leader ($3m)

BYMA

—

+2.3%

Biggest domestic percentage gain

BMA (Banco Macro)

—

+2.1%

Bank rotation leader

LOMA (Loma Negra)

—

-0.3%

Among few domestic losers

MELI (MercadoLibre)

—

-0.3%

Slipped despite tech strength elsewhere

S&P 500

7,483

+0.00%

Flat Wall Street backdrop

Most-traded names – where the money went

Stock

Move

Turnover

Why it moved

YPFD

+2.1%

$3m

Vaca Muerta / oil optimism; $25bn RIGI filing keeps it the focal point

SPY

+1.6%

$2m

US S&P 500 ETF; passive dollar-hedge demand via CEDEARs

GGAL

+0.8%

$1m

Grupo Galicia rides the bank rotation, but lags peers

VIST

+1.7%

$1m

Vista Energy leveraged to the same shale thesis as YPF

PAMP

+0.9%

$1m

Pampa Energía; utilities/energy tailwind

MSFT

+1.1%

$1m

Microsoft CEDEAR; local dollar-proxy buying

QQQ

+0.9%

$1m

Nasdaq-100 ETF; foreign-equity hedge demand

NVDA

+1.5%

$1m

Nvidia CEDEAR rides the global AI-chip rally

01YPF owns the order book

The single most striking fact of the July 3 session was concentration: YPFD rose +2.1% on roughly $3m of turnover — more than any other name and double the flow into the next-busiest ticker.

Argentine equities, tracked by the ARGT proxy, closed 91.45, up +0.37% on the day but still 10.8% below their 52-week high of 102.57 within a 66.80-102.57 range. That leaves the market in recovery mode rather than breakout mode.

On the domestic board the pattern held: the Merval extended its bounce, having climbed 1.13% the prior session as buyers returned near support and the reform story stayed intact.

02Banks pop, energy pays the bills

The biggest percentage moves came from financials and the exchange itself — BYMA +2.3%, BMA (Banco Macro) +2.1% and IBIT +2.5% — while YPFD +2.1% was the only heavyweight to top both the gainer list and the turnover list.

Where the money actually went tells the real story: after YPFD’s $3m, the flow ran through SPY (+1.6%, $2m) and a cluster of $1m names — GGAL +0.8%, VIST +1.7%, PAMP +0.9%, MSFT +1.1%, QQQ +0.9% and NVDA +1.5%. The presence of SPY, QQQ, MSFT and NVDA reflects local investors using CEDEARs as a dollar hedge and a way to ride the global AI-chip rally.

The losers were shallow and few — AAPL -0.4%, LOMA -0.3% and MELI -0.3% — underlining that this was a broad, low-conviction grind higher rather than a rush for the exits.

Live Market IntelligenceArgentina — Live Market BoardInside: market breadth, the sector heatmap, currencies & rates, the Latin America scoreboard and the full instrument board.

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Live Company IntelligenceMarkets: Merval & the Peso — July 4, 2026 — the full investor dossierInside: live share price, peer benchmarks and the latest Rio Times coverage on the company.

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Markets: Merval & the Peso — July 4, 2026

YPF · Buenos Aires

Share price · live

R$71,575

▲ +2.14% today

Peers & comparators

PAMPA

▲ +0.88%

TGS

▲ +2.51%

BRENT

▲ +0.46%

Data: EODHD Fundamentals & live feed · The Rio Times Ticker Intelligence

Argentina — Live Market Board

BYMA · Buenos Aires

Jul 4, 2026 · 05:01

S&P MERVAL · benchmark

3,196,900

+1.26%

L 3,157,091day rangeH 3,201,527

+53.83% over 12 months

Market breadth · 14 names

93% advancing

13 ▲ advancing1 declining ▼

Currencies, rates & key inputs

USD / ARS

1,488

-0.07%

Brent crude

72.13

+0.46%

Soybeans

1,147

+1.82%

Sector heatmap · average move today

Technology

+3.57%

GLOBANT

Energy

+2.33%

YPF, TGS

Consumer Disc.

+2.02%

MIRGOR, MERCADOLIBRE

Financials

+1.46%

GGAL, COME, BYMA

Utilities

+0.79%

PAMPA, CEPU

Telecom

+0.50%

TELECOM ARG

Mining

+0.23%

TXAR

Materials

-0.07%

ALUAR, LOMA NEGRA

Latin America scoreboard

IndexLastTodayStrength

IbovespaBrazil

174,070

+0.74%

S&P/BMV IPCMexico

67,060

-0.02%

S&P IPSAChile

10,821

+99.04%

S&P MERVALArgentina

3,196,900

+1.26%

MSCI COLCAPColombia

2,295.72

+1.57%

BVL S&P PerúPeru

55,809.71

+0.30%

Full instrument board

Instrument

Last

Change

YoY

Prev.

High

Low

Volume

MERVAL

3,196,900

+1.26%

+53.83%

3,157,091

3,201,527

3,157,091

—

USD/ARS

1,488

-0.07%

+21.06%

1,489

1,489

1,480

—

YPF

71,575

+2.14%

+79.05%

70,075

71,675

70,100

62,840

GGAL

7,975

+0.82%

+27.32%

7,910

7,995

7,890

238,394

PAMPA

5,135

+0.88%

+42.64%

5,090

5,200

5,055

304,925

TXAR

665.00

+0.23%

+2.79%

663.50

671.00

654.50

1,238,834

ALUAR

993.00

+0.20%

+36.78%

991.00

998.50

980.00

216,615

TGS

9,195

+2.51%

+38.06%

8,970

9,225

8,970

43,815

CEPU

2,323

+0.69%

+60.76%

2,307

2,338

2,219

206,244

MIRGOR

17,300

+2.82%

-17.42%

16,825

17,400

16,725

1,569

COME

42.28

+1.25%

-22.06%

41.76

43.90

41.72

3,097,746

LOMA NEGRA

3,673

-0.34%

+30.00%

3,685

3,750

3,615

153,088

BYMA

309.25

+2.32%

+56.38%

302.25

310.00

303.00

1,699,994

TELECOM ARG

3,990

+0.50%

+80.54%

3,970

4,098

3,950

15,369

GLOBANT

32.51

+3.57%

-64.56%

31.39

33.19

31.79

2,140,955

MERCADOLIBRE

1,763

+1.22%

-29.86%

1,742

1,782

1,749

407,805

Largest moves today

GLOBANT

32.51

+3.57%

MIRGOR

17,300

+2.82%

TGS

9,195

+2.51%

BYMA

309.25

+2.32%

YPF

71,575

+2.14%

MERVAL

3,196,900

+1.26%

COME

42.28

+1.25%

MERCADOLIBRE

1,763

+1.22%

The session read

The S&P MERVAL rose 1.26%, with breadth positive — 13 of 14 names higher. Technology led, while Materials lagged.

From The Rio Times

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03Oil, reform and a peso at the floor

The energy bid rests on hard catalysts: YPF’s $25bn Vaca Muerta RIGI filing — 1,152 wells and a 240,000 bpd plateau by 2032 — is the largest incentive-regime filing to date, and Milei’s proposed ‘Super RIGI’ targeting $1bn-plus AI, semiconductor and lithium projects sits before Congress. Passage would hand the market a fresh reason to climb.

The currency is the counterweight: USD/ARS closed 1,488, essentially flat on the day but just 0.3% from its weakest-ever 1,492, so the peso is pinned to the soft end of its managed band even as reserves have hit multi-year highs. For a foreign investor, that FX asymmetry caps the upside on unhedged peso returns.

The read-through: with the index 10.8% off its high and money concentrating in oil and dollar-proxy CEDEARs, this is a reform-and-energy trade with a currency asterisk — own the Vaca Muerta and bank-rotation stories, but respect the band.

What to Watch

Next session: Whether YPFD holds its turnover crown and BYMA/BMA extend the bank rotation, or the index stalls again near resistance.

Macro: USD/ARS pinned near 1,492 — any move to the band ceiling would test BCRA resolve and reserves.

Corporate: YPF’s Argentina GNL RIGI filing with ENI and XRG (~$20bn) and Chevron’s Vaca Muerta expansion, both flagged as imminent.

Ahead: Congressional progress on the ‘Super RIGI’ bill targeting AI, semiconductor and lithium projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did YPF stand out on July 3?

YPFD rose +2.1% on roughly $3m of turnover, making it both a top domestic gainer and the single most-traded name — driven by oil optimism and its record $25bn Vaca Muerta RIGI filing covering 1,152 wells and a 240,000 bpd plateau by 2032.

Where did the money concentrate?

In energy and dollar proxies: YPFD ($3m) led, followed by SPY ($2m) and a band of $1m names including GGAL, VIST, PAMP, MSFT, QQQ and NVDA — the latter four being CEDEARs used as a dollar hedge and AI-rally play.

How is the index positioned versus its 52-week range?

The ARGT proxy closed 91.45, up +0.37%, but remains 10.8% below its 52-week high of 102.57 within a 66.80-102.57 range — recovering, not breaking out.

What happened to the peso?

USD/ARS closed 1,488, down -0.07% on the day, but sits just 0.3% from its weakest-ever 1,492 — the peso is anchored to the soft end of its managed band despite rising reserves.

What should a foreign investor watch?

The ‘Super RIGI’ bill’s progress through Congress, imminent RIGI filings from YPF-ENI-XRG and Chevron, and any pressure that pushes USD/ARS toward the band ceiling.

Reported for The Rio Times — Argentina Markets. Filed Saturday, July 4, 2026 — 00:08 BRT. Sources: EODHD, CNBC, Reuters. Previously: July 3 · July 2