Argentina’s election line-up twist a boost for markets, Reuters reports

Argentina’s election line-up twist, which saw the ruling Peronist coalition torpedo a leftist candidate in favor of a centrist economy minister, is positive for markets, analysts said, but adds new spice to negotiations with the IMF, Reuters’ Walter Bianchi writes. The Peronist bloc, Union por la Patria, said on Friday economy minister Sergio Massa would be the sole nomination for the ruling coalition. With other frontrunners from the conservative opposition and the far-right, the decision means Argentina’s next president, to be chosen in October elections, is likely to be more market-friendly, a salve for hard-hit investors in the indebted nation, the author notes. Fundcorp economist Roberto Geretto said Massa’s candidacy makes “a break with the IMF or radicalization of economic policy in the short term less likely,” and signaled a “loss of power” for the populist wing of VP Fernandez de Kirchner, the report notes.