Argentine stocks and the peso surged Monday after a stunning victory for President Javier Milei in midterm elections seen as an endorsement of his radical free-market agenda.

The benchmark Merval index was up over 20 percent at the start of trading and the peso appreciated by a whopping 9.5 percent against the dollar in early trading in Buenos Aires amid a climate of general investor euphoria.

US President Donald Trump, who twice came to the financial and political rescue of his close ally in recent weeks, congratulated Milei on his "landslide victory."

"Our confidence in him was justified by the People of Argentina," Trump, who had threatened to withhold aid if Milei lost the vote, wrote on his Truth Social platform while on an Asian tour.

Argentina's 10-year government bond yields al

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