S&P 500 Performance Dwarfs In Comparison Argentina’s Merval: Has Argentina’s Pro-Crypto President Javier Milei Scripted An Emerging Market Success Story?

Argentina’s S&P Merval Index has risen by 162.85% year-to-date, beating the gains in the S&P 500 Index and other emerging stock market indices.

What Happened: S&P Merval’s staggering gain, comes as the country emerged from a severe recession in the third quarter of the current fiscal and amid Argentina’s President Javier Milei‘s plans for cryptocurrency adoption.

The South American country’s GDP grew by 3.9% from July to September compared to the previous quarter, exceeding expectations of 3.4%. However, it shrank 2.1% from the previous year, less than the anticipated 2.6% contraction.

The country endured a recession for three quarters, with over half of the population in poverty, inflation eroding wages, and the labor market losing hundreds of thousands of jobs. Milei’s austerity measures deepened the downturn, especially with cuts to public spending and infrastructure projects, a key source of employment.

Additionally, regulators from El Salvador and Argentina …

Full story available on Benzinga.com