The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) rose today. The Tel Aviv 25 index rose 0.51% to 872.23 points, the Tel Aviv 100 rose 0.65% to 896.34 points, but the Tel-Tech fell 0.97% to 417.74 points. Turnover was NIS 1.68 billion.
TASE indices continued to climb to new peaks today, after the Independence Day break, and despite two days of mixed trends on the world’s bourses. Trading on the TASE was mixed today, as technology stocks offset rises in the leading indices. Trends were also mixed in the bond market. In the foreign currency market, shekel was stable below the NIS 4.50/$ threshold.
Today’s session brought to a close an abbreviated trading week, during which the Tel Aviv 25 index rose 1.5%. At the same time, coalition negotiations were completed and the new government was presented today. This was interpreted as a further reduction in the recent political uncertainty. In this context, at the micro level, the capital market can live with the cabinet appointments, particularly the appointment of Avraham Hirchson as Minister of Finance. He is seen as a man who will not interfere with market processes.
In the stock market, bank and chemical stocks had the day’s highest turnovers, as usual. Activities by foreign investors in these stocks were mixed. There were no particular developments among bank shares; Bank Hapoalim (LSE: BKHD; TASE: POLI) fell 1.2%, but Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) rose 0.8%, and the Banking 15 index fell 0.4%.
Trends were also mixed among chemical shares. Israel Chemicals Ltd. (TASE: CHIM) stood out, rising 3.7% thanks to higher share prices for international fertilizer companies, despite no signs from China. MA Industries Ltd. (Makhteshim Agan) (TASE: MAIN) fell 2.1% without any special developments. Heavy trading in the share was mostly attributed to the repercussions from the future change in control at the company.
Investors in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) retained their optimism from before the Independence Day holiday. The share rose another 3.3%, following rises on Wall Street over the preceding two days.
Teva’s rise is attributed to an unexpected ruling by the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday upholding Teva’s exclusive marketing for generic Zocor, a blockbuster drug made by Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK). Teva’s exclusive marketing rights for generic Zocor and generic Pravachol, received a few weeks ago, are seen as a positive surprise for the company in 2006, not taken into account in models by analysts covering the company.
Despite garnering headlines thanks to its takeover by IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH), Koor Industries Ltd. (NYSE: KOR; TASE: KOR) continued to lose ground today, dropping another 2.7%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on May 4, 2006
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