Israeli Stocks Open Amid Security Tensions, Oil Prices Surge

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange is set to open this morning against a backdrop of escalating security tensions between the United States and Iran, following reports of Iran launching missiles at U.S. bases in Jordan and U.S. strikes on Iranian tankers. Global markets are relatively quiet, with mixed trends in Asia and stable futures in Wall Street. Oil prices continue to climb, nearing $100 per barrel for the first time since July, driven by Middle East concerns. Goldman Sachs warns that further escalation in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea could push oil prices above $120 per barrel.

Dual-listed Israeli stocks show mixed performance. Palo Alto Networks is up 2.3%, set to join the S&P 100 index on September 21st. However, Teva is up only about 1%, while Elbit and other dual-listed chip stocks like Tower, Camtek, and Nova are trading down by up to 2%. In other corporate news, Discount Bank has requested the cancellation of the sale of Cal to the Horesh-Harel group, citing difficulties in finding an alternative buyer and opposition from Bank Leumi. Tzahhi Abu, controlling shareholder of Ari Real Estate, is acquiring a 50% stake in Waybox for NIS 76 million, adding over 40 projects and thousands of housing units to his company's portfolio.

Yesterday, the Tel Aviv market closed lower, with the TA-35 index down 0.8% and the TA-90 index down 1.4%. Real estate indices led the decline, falling around 1.5%. Energy, cleantech, finance, banking, and insurance indices also saw drops of about 1%. Among the few gainers were Mor Investments, Beit Shemesh, and Bazan. Dor Alon reported a suspicion of large-scale embezzlement at several fueling stations, while Navitas Petroleum continued its decline, down about 3% today and 9% since last Thursday, reportedly due to Argentina's sovereignty dispute with the UK. Conversely, Arbe Robotics surged after being selected for an autonomous driving program by a major global automaker.

Looking ahead, the Israel Securities Authority and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange announced joint working groups to advance the development of the Israeli capital market, including extending trading hours into the evening by 2027. In bond markets, the Israeli government bond index has seen a negative trend over the past month, with yields rising to 3.02%, influenced by rising U.S. Treasury yields. Investors are awaiting the U.S. Treasury's announcement on its bond repurchase program size, with expectations of at least $4 billion in purchases, though some analysts suggest this might disappoint the market.

Globally, South Korea's Kospi index rose 2%, led by chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, following gains in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. U.S. stock futures are stable after a down day on Wall Street yesterday, where rising oil prices and inflation fears impacted markets. Meta Platforms unveiled a new AI agent, Muse, while Qualcomm secured a deal with Amazon for its AI chips. Intel saw gains on a report of expected price increases. ASML received commitments from chipmakers for its new manufacturing equipment. Boston Scientific and Stryker fell due to separate cyberattacks. AI-related stocks, including Corvive, Lumentum, and Coherent, experienced sharp increases.