Infographic

Argentina’s Stock Market Decline Is Among the World’s Worst Since 1950

Despite Monday’s drop, Argentine stocks have performed better than those in Pakistan and Oman this year.

A woman walks past a currency exchange board in Buenos Aires on Aug. 12.
A woman walks past a currency exchange board in Buenos Aires on Aug. 12.
A woman walks past a currency exchange board in Buenos Aires on Aug. 12. Natacha Pisarenko/AP

Argentina’s main stock market plummeted 48 percent in U.S. dollar terms on Monday. The S&P Merval’s fall was the second-largest drop of any major stock index tracked by Bloomberg since 1950.

Argentina’s main stock market plummeted 48 percent in U.S. dollar terms on Monday. The S&P Merval’s fall was the second-largest drop of any major stock index tracked by Bloomberg since 1950.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri’s wider-than-expected margin of defeat in primary elections Sunday by his center-left rival, Alberto Fernández, sent shock waves through the Argentine stock market. The conservative Macri is known for championing austerity and freer markets as solutions to Argentina’s recession.

The country has a long history of fiscal crises. As seen in the chart below, two of the five worst stock market drops since 1950 occurred in Argentina.


Largest Stock Market Plunges Since 1950


The only country that suffered a larger drop in U.S. dollar terms is Sri Lanka, which in 1989 was mired in civil war.

But despite yesterday’s drop, Argentina’s Merval is only down 9.12 percent in 2019 to date. The key indices in Pakistan and Oman have performed worse this year.


Worst Performing Markets in 2019

Index Country YTD
KSE100 Pakistan -20.61%
MSM30 Oman -10.69%
MERVAL Argentina -9.12%
WIG20 Poland -7.33%
IPSA Chile -5.44%
KOSPI South Korea -4.84%

As of Aug. 12 close. Source: Bloomberg

  Twitter: @seekayhickey

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.