Bank Leumi Reports Record Q2 Profit as Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Opens Mixed

Bank Leumi announced a record net profit of 2.83 billion shekels in the second quarter, marking an 8.5% increase compared to the same period last year. The bank's return on equity stood at 16.3%, slightly up from 16.2% the previous year. Excluding a special tax on banks, the net profit would have reached 3.1 billion shekels with a return on equity of 17.9%. Following these results, Bank Leumi's board, led by CEO Hanan Friedman, approved a distribution of 50% of the quarterly net profit, totaling 1.4 billion shekels. This payout includes a cash dividend of 1.13 billion shekels and a share buyback worth 283 million shekels.

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange opened amid a negative close on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq fell by 0.6% and the Dow Jones and S&P 500 each declined by 0.3%. Investors continued to react to quarterly earnings reports, with mixed movements across sectors. The TA-35 index rose slightly by 0.1%, while the TA-125 fell by 0.2%. The banking sector index surged 2.5%, insurance dropped 2.2%, and security stocks declined 4%. Following earnings releases, Elbit Systems shares plunged 9.4% on heavy trading volume, Turpaz fell 14.8%, while Bank Hapoalim and Amot shares rose 2.7% and 1.7%, respectively. Other banks, including Discount and Mizrahi Tefahot, also saw gains.

Meanwhile, futures on Wall Street showed modest gains of up to 0.2% ahead of the upcoming inflation data release scheduled for later today. The ongoing publication of corporate earnings continues to influence market sentiment in Israel and abroad.