Argentine Stock Market Plunges 10% Amid Authorities' Efforts To Support Currency

The government of Argentina was able to prevent a steep fall of the national currency on Tuesday with a verbal intervention, but the stock exchange plunged more than 10 percent on Tuesday, according to trading and banks

BUENOS AIRES (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st August, 2019) The government of Argentina was able to prevent a steep fall of the national currency on Tuesday with a verbal intervention, but the stock exchange plunged more than 10 percent on Tuesday, according to trading and banks.

The country's main stock exchange index Merval index closed down 10.44 percent at 27,233.19 points.

The new finance minister, Hernan Lacunza, and the head of the Central Bank, Guido Sandleris, convened a press conference on Tuesday before the opening of the markets. They assured that their main task was to guarantee the stability of the Argentine peso.

The national currency slightly weakened at the beginning of the day, to 58 pesos per US dollar from 57 pesos per dollar on Friday, but by the end of the day, the largest state bank in Argentina, Banco Nacion, returned the rate to 57 pesos. Other banks and exchanges in Argentina sold dollars for 57 to 59 pesos.