Israeli Stock Market Surges Amid Government Formation Hopes
Translated & summarized from Maariv by baba
Israel's stock market surged on Friday, with the TA-35 index rising 2.1% and other major indices also showing gains, recovering from sharp losses the previous day. This rebound occurred despite significant drops in global markets, including Wall Street, and was attributed to positive sentiment surrounding government formation possibilities. Trading volume on Thursday was the second highest in a decade, and the shekel strengthened slightly against the dollar.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Israeli stock indices surged Friday, recovering from sharp Thursday losses amid positive government formation outlook.
- The TA-35 index rose 2.1%, TA-125 gained 2%, and TA-90 increased 1.8% by 11 AM.
- Thursday's trading volume was 19.4 billion shekels, the second highest in a decade.
- Global markets, including Wall Street, experienced significant declines due to US midterm election concerns.
- The Nasdaq entered correction territory, down over 10% from its October peak.
- The Israeli shekel strengthened slightly against the dollar, trading around 3.19.
Israel's stock market experienced a significant rebound on Friday, with major indices showing substantial gains by 11 AM. The TA-35 index climbed approximately 2.1%, the TA-125 rose by about 2%, and the TA-90 added around 1.8%. This recovery follows sharp declines on Thursday, where the TA-35 dropped 3.69% and the TA-125 lost 3.38%, completing a two-day fall of about 5.6% and 3.38% respectively.
Despite global markets facing significant downturns, including steep drops in US tech stocks with the Nasdaq falling 5.5% and the S&P 500 losing 4.4%, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange showed a positive local trend. The Nasdaq entered correction territory, closing over 10% below its October peak, marking its steepest daily drop in 19 months. Bitcoin also weakened, trading around $75,700.
Global markets mirrored the downturn, with Japan's Nikkei closing down about 6%, Australia's index falling 0.5%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng losing 1.3%. European markets opened lower, with the STOXX 600 down about 1%. These global declines are attributed to concerns over the implications of the US midterm election results on regulation and chip demand.
Trading volume on Thursday reached approximately 19.4 billion shekels, the second highest in the last decade, partly due to index rebalancing by exchange-traded funds and tracking funds. Even with Friday's gains, indices remain below their pre-decline levels, recovering only a portion of the losses from the previous two days.
In the currency market, the Israeli shekel strengthened slightly against the dollar, which was trading around 3.19 shekels by 11 AM, down about 0.4%. The dollar had traded between 3.19 and 3.22 shekels during the day.
