Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Faces Declines Amid Global Tech Sell-off
Translated & summarized from Ice by baba
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange is expected to open lower on Friday, mirroring significant drops on Wall Street and in Asian markets, particularly affecting semiconductor stocks. Investor concerns over potential U.S. policy changes impacting AI investments and data centers are driving the sell-off. Israeli companies Nova, Tower Semiconductor, and Camtek experienced substantial declines on Thursday despite reporting strong revenues, and are predicted to open with negative gaps. The U.S. October employment report is due later today and may influence market sentiment.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Tel Aviv Stock Exchange faces shortened trading and expected declines amid global market turmoil.
- Wall Street indices saw sharp drops Thursday, led by a 12.2% fall in the semiconductor index.
- Investor fears center on potential U.S. policy shifts affecting AI and data center investments.
- Asian markets, including South Korea and Japan, also experienced significant downturns.
- Israeli tech firms Nova, Tower Semiconductor, and Camtek saw stock price drops despite strong revenue reports.
- The U.S. October employment report is anticipated to impact market sentiment later Friday.
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange is set for a shortened trading day on Friday, with a closing auction at 1:45 PM and trading ending at 1:50 PM. This follows a significant downturn on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq Composite fell 5.52%, the S&P 500 dropped 4.36%, and the Dow Jones lost 3.44% on Thursday. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 12.2%, driven by investor concerns that Democratic control of Congress might slow the development of data centers and raise questions about the returns on AI investments. These fears relate to future policy rather than enacted restrictions.
Futures markets in the U.S. suggest a potential rebound of 0.6% for the Nasdaq, with more moderate declines expected for the Dow and S&P 500. Asian markets are also experiencing volatility this morning. South Korea's Kospi index is down 4.3%, after an earlier 8% drop triggered a 20-minute trading halt. Japan's Nikkei saw an initial fall of up to 7% at the open, but has since recovered slightly to trade down 5.3%.
The main macroeconomic event of the day is the U.S. October employment report, scheduled for release at 3:30 PM Israel time, which could influence interest rate expectations and U.S. trading ahead of the weekend. The Israeli market opens after experiencing significant losses on Thursday, with the TA-35 index down 3.69% and the TA-125 down 3.38%. Thursday's trading volume was approximately 19.3 billion shekels, including activity related to index rebalancing.
Several Israeli tech companies saw substantial drops. Nova's stock fell 2.8% despite reporting record revenues of $287.8 million and forecasting $305-315 million for the fourth quarter. Tower Semiconductor lost 8.35% after announcing quarterly revenues of $526 million and projecting around $600 million for the fourth quarter, continuing to face market pressure in the semiconductor sector. Camtek plummeted 8.63% after reporting record revenues of $161.3 million and reaffirming a forecast of over $800 million in revenue by 2027. All three companies are expected to open with negative arbitrage gaps on Friday: Tower at 4.36%, Camtek at 2.35%, and Nova at 1.30%.
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