The Merval, Argentina’s main index, erases its strong start and retreats from its all-time high in dollars.

The market’s strength was encouraging imminent profit-taking, according to traders, which would explain why, just minutes after the market opened, the leading panel turned red.

The Argentine stock index, the S&P Merval, started Tuesday on a bullish note, driving business as it confirmed its intraday record in dollars due to the influx of liquidity in the hands of institutional investors encouraged by macroeconomic indicators.

However, just minutes after the start of trading on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, the leading index of Bolsas y Mercados Argentinos (BYMA) fell by 1.3% to a maximum of 1,476,897.560 points (1403 GMT) after surpassing its Monday record of 1,498,165.81 units for a few minutes and dragging along a significant improvement of 24.38% in the previous seven sessions.

The market’s strength was prompting imminent profit-taking, according to traders, which would explain why the leading panel turned red just minutes after the market opened. These market highs are in pesos, while in dollars they register a record since 2018 driven by strong demand for Argentine stocks traded on Wall Street.

The declines are led by Irsa (-5.1%); Supervielle (-4.5%); Transportadora de Gas del Norte (-3.9%); and BBVA Argentina (-2.5%).

Meanwhile, the gains are for Banco de Valores (+6%); Telecom Argentina (+2.4%); Byma (+1.7%); and Mirgor (+1.5%).

On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the gains are for Telecom Argentina (+2.7%); Edenor (+1.5%); Tenaris (+0.5%). Meanwhile, the declines are for Banco Supervielle (-3.8%); Transportadora de Gas del Sur (-2.2%); and Cresud (-1.9%).