Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Trading Volume Doubles After Friday Shift

A shift in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange's trading week to Monday-Friday, implemented in January, has led to a doubling of trading volume on Fridays, the day that replaced Sunday. The change also resulted in a 2.5-fold increase in the share of foreign investors and improved price efficiency, according to a new study by the Israel Securities Authority (ISA). The research, conducted by ISA's chief economist Professor Miriam Schwartz-Ziv and her deputy Guy Sabah, compared trading activity on Sundays before the reform (July-December 2025) with Fridays after its implementation (January-June 2026). Trading days Monday-Thursday served as a control group to isolate the reform's impact. Excluded from the analysis were off-exchange transactions, index rebalancing days, options expiry days, and the stock of Palo Alto Networks due to its dual listing and significant market cap. The average daily trading volume on Fridays increased from NIS 1.3 billion before the reform to NIS 2.6 billion afterward. This represents a 57% increase after accounting for a general market trend of 43% growth on Mondays-Thursdays during the same period. Daily turnover velocity rose by 58% on Fridays, compared to only 14% on other weekdays, indicating a 39% excess increase. A significant driver of this growth is the increased participation of foreign investors, whose share of Friday trading volume rose from 15.3% to 38.2%. This contrasts with Monday-Thursday trading, where foreign investor participation remained stable at around 36.3%-36.7%, suggesting the increase on Fridays did not come at the expense of other weekdays. The share of local institutional investors on Fridays also increased from 10.4% to 12.9%, primarily at the expense of local individual and corporate investors. Liquidity also improved, with the bid-ask spread narrowing by approximately 11% on Fridays, from 0.48% to 0.43%, while it slightly widened on other weekdays. These findings are notable given that Friday is a shortened trading day, ending at 1:50 PM, before Wall Street opens. Despite this, Friday's trading volume is only about 35% lower than a regular full trading day. The ISA's chairman, Adv. Sפי Singer, stated that the study demonstrates the significant value of connecting the Israeli capital market to major international markets, enhancing liquidity and foreign investor participation. The ISA, in conjunction with the stock exchange, will continue to promote strategic initiatives to solidify the Israeli market's position as an accessible and attractive international hub.