Grupo Financiero Galicia Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Is this meaningful? Or just another movement?

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Argentine banking group Grupo Financiero Galicia (Nasdaq: GGAL) soared as much as 26% on news that Argentina's former president, Nestor Kirchner, had died.

So what: The markets see the death of the populist Kirchner as a potential boon for Argentine businesses. Kirchner presided over the massive debt restructuring in 2005 that gave creditors a mere $0.30 per dollar on $95 billion of defaulted debt -- a plan that's still being contested in international courts. Unofficial estimates also put the country's inflation rate as high as 25%. Investors are hoping that today's news will clear the way for fresh faces in government who will make the country more pro-business.

Now what: This news wasn't specific to Grupo Financiero Galicia, so fellow U.S.-listed Argentine companies Telecom Argentina (NYSE: TEO), Banco Macro (NYSE: BMA), and Empresa Distribuidora (NYSE: EDN) were all hopping on the news. While Kirchner's death could lead to change in Argentina, at this point it's all speculation, so investors should be cautious about chasing these shares.

Interested in more info on Grupo Financiero Galicia? Add it to your watchlist by clicking here.

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Fool contributor Matt Koppenheffer does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned. You can check out what Matt is keeping an eye on by visiting his Motley Fool CAPS portfolio, or you can follow Matt on Twitter @KoppTheFool or on his RSS feed. The Fool's disclosure policy assures you no Wookiees were harmed in the making of this article.

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