Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Surges on Positive Political Outlook

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange experienced a significant rally on Friday, November 6, reversing sharp declines from the previous two days. Following a volatile week marked by the US election results and a Wall Street crash, the Israeli market opened with mixed trends but quickly saw all major indices climb. This upward movement was attributed to optimistic reports regarding the potential formation of a government in Israel.

By the end of trading, the TA-35 index had jumped 3.09%, the TA-125 rose by 2.81%, and the TA-90 increased by 1.84%. The banking sector index saw a substantial gain of 4.48%, while the real estate index grew by 3.1%. The dollar, which had been strengthening against the shekel, began to decline, falling below 3.20 shekels.

Notable stock performances included Nova, up 6.07%, and Phoenix, up 4.56%. Other significant gainers were Menora Mivtachim (4.43%), Clal Insurance (4.41%), and Tower (4.17%). Major banks like Discount (4.68%) and Bank Hapoalim (4.29%) also saw considerable increases, as did the Azrieli Group (3.44%). Several stocks, including RP Optical, Israel Canada, and Lahav, showed gains around 10%.

Earlier in the week, on Thursday, November 5, the Tel Aviv exchange had closed with a sharp downturn, with the TA-35 index falling 3.69%. This followed a 1.96% drop the previous day, resulting in a cumulative loss of approximately 5.6% over two days. The global markets also experienced a significant sell-off, with the Nasdaq plunging 5.52%, the S&P 500 losing 4.3%, and the Dow Jones decreasing by 3.44%. This global decline was led by technology and chip manufacturing stocks, driven by concerns over slowing investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The VIX index, a measure of expected market volatility, had surged by about 70% to around 28 points amid heightened market uncertainty.