The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) fell today. The Tel Aviv 25 index fell 0.75% to 749.03 points, the Tel Aviv 100 fell 0.59% to 758.33 points, the Yeter 30 index fell 1.7% and the Tel-Tech fell 0.42% to 389.12 points. The Banking index rose 1.9%, thanks to the Bank Leumi privatization tender. Turnover was NIS 1.33 billion.
The TASE had another volatile session today, which above all reflected the change in mood in the local market caused by political seesawing. The leading indices rose sharply in morning trading, boosted by the pleasant surprise in the Bank Leumi (TASE:LUMI) privatization, but the session ended with a whimper, with falls in both the stock and bond markets.
Anyone looking for fingerprints of foreign investors in today’s large turnover should exclude the heavy trading in Bank Leumi in the wake of the privatization tender, and in MA Industries (Makhteshim Agan Ltd.) (TASE:MAIN), which published its financial report for the third quarter. Excluding these two shares, today’s turnover was average for recent sessions, at around NIS 1 billion. Together, Bank Leumi and MA Industries accounted for NIS 400 million in turnover.
Anyone who thought that Bank Leumi’s share would soar in the wake of the tender would have found his hopes dissipating by the afternoon. The share ended the day up only 1.9%.
While still in the banking sector, First International Bank of Israel (TASE: FTIN1 ;FTIN5) stood out, publishing impressive results for the third quarter. The bank’s net profit rose 350%, compared with the corresponding quarter of last year, to NIS 148 million. The bank also slashed its allowance for doubtful debts, and a achieved high return on equity, thereby drawing away some attention from the Bank Leumi tender. First International Bank rose 0.9%, and its parent company, FIBI Holdings Ltd. (TASE: FIBI) rose 2.4%. As for other banks, Bank Hapoalim (LSE:BKHD; TASE:POLI) rose 1.4%, Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT) rose 3.6%, and United Mizrahi Bank (TASE:MZRH) rose 1.2%.
In addition to Bank Leumi, MA Industries attracted investors’ attention today, thanks to its financial report. Its share fell 3.6% on the session’s second largest turnover of NIS 180 million; Bank Leumi had the day’s largest turnover.
Another noteworthy financial report was published by Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE: ESLT), which, as usual, showed growth in its top line, bottom line, and orders backlog. Continuing its usual somnolence, the share fell 2.3% today, despite the strong numbers in the financials. Many players have begun considering Elbit Systems as one of the best investments for next year.
Among blue-chip shares, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq:TEVA; TASE:TEVA) continued to sail in illogical waters, in terms of the TASE, rising 1%, to reflect a market cap of NIS 121 billion. Yesterday, Teva announced that it had obtained US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for Azithromycin, a generic version of a Pfizer (NYSE:PFE; LSE:PFZ) antibiotic that has $1.6 billion in sales a year. Teva did not obtain exclusivity for its generic version of the drug.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on November 15, 2005