Tel Aviv Stocks Fall for Third Straight Day on U.S.-Iran Deal Fears

Trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange closed with sharp declines for a third straight session, as investors worried about the implications of a likely agreement between the United States and Iran and continued security uncertainty in the region, Ynet reported.

The main indexes all fell. The TA-35 dropped 1.35%, the TA-125 lost 1.72%, and the TA-90 declined 2%. Sector indexes also slid sharply, with TA Cleantech plunging 5.3%, TA Energy Infrastructure falling 6%, and TA Technology down 3.67%.

Energy stocks were hit especially hard. Meshek Energy and Doral Energy each lost about 12% of their value. The selling followed two earlier days of losses, with the TA-35 down about 1% yesterday, the TA-125 off 1.1%, and the TA-90 down 1.3%. On the previous day, the declines were steeper, at about 2% for the TA-35, 2.3% for the TA-125, and 3.4% for the TA-90.

Since the start of June, the exchange’s three benchmark indexes have fallen sharply. The TA-90 is down nearly 11% and has almost erased its gains for the year, the TA-125 is down about 8%, and the TA-35 has fallen about 7%.

In currency trading, the shekel was comparatively stable after weeks of volatility. The Bank of Israel set the representative dollar rate at 2.91 shekels and the euro rate at 3.38 shekels, both roughly unchanged from the previous day.