Israeli Stock Market Returns to Full Trading With Positive Arbitrage

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange is set to resume full trading days after a month of holiday-shortened sessions, entering the fourth quarter with a slight positive arbitrage gap of approximately 0.2% from Wall Street. Israeli semiconductor stocks are expected to lead the opening, with Camtek showing a notable positive gap of around 3.8%. Wall Street closed Friday with gains, spurred by a weaker-than-expected US jobs report that eased concerns about further Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. The S&P 500 rose about 0.7%, the Dow added 0.5%, and the Nasdaq climbed 1.2%, reaching a new high. The US economy added only 29,000 jobs in September, significantly below the projected 90,000.

Among other notable stocks, Enlight is returning with a positive gap of about 1.4%, and Elbit Systems with 1.7%. Conversely, Palo Alto Networks shows a negative gap of about 1.4%, despite recently surpassing a market value of one trillion shekels. Teva and Nice are also expected to open with slight negative gaps of around 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively. The opening is anticipated to be positive, contingent on the performance of futures trading and key "tank" stocks like Tower, Nova, and Camtek, which have gained significant influence on index direction.

In other market news, Smart Shooter surged approximately 31% following a major U.S. framework contract valued at up to $150 million over three years, nearly tripling its order backlog. Yohananoff completed the transfer of 14 real estate assets, valued at approximately 1.1 billion shekels, to a subsidiary, potentially paving the way for future partnerships or capital raises. Afcon Holdings is also drawing attention regarding the potential IPO of its renewable energy division at a valuation around one billion shekels, a figure considered ambitious compared to earlier valuations.

Electra Real Estate is entering the fourth quarter after a challenging summer, with its stock down over 60% year-to-date. The article also touches on the broader implications of institutional investors' decisions, using Menora, a leading pension and insurance group, and its investment in Electra Real Estate as an example of potential conflicts of interest in managing pension funds. Additionally, a further reduction in fuel excise tax is set to lower gasoline prices by about half a shekel per liter starting at midnight, a measure expected to cost the state approximately 150 million shekels and remain in effect until the end of October.