The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) fell today. The Tel Aviv 25 Index fell 0.78% to 1,209.88 points, the Tel Aviv 100 Index fell 0.80% to 1,070.62 points, and the BlueTech 50 Index fell 1.26% to 315.40 points. Turnover was NIS 818.5 million.
The TASE fell today, in line with losses on European markets and at the opening on Wall Street.
In the foreign currency market, the Bank of Israel set the shekel-dollar representative exchange rate at NIS 3.734/$, up 0.03% on yesterday's rate, and set the shekel-euro representative exchange rate at NIS 4.983/€, down 0.11%.
In the bond market, long-term Shahar unlinked shekel government rose by up to 0.3% and long term Galil CPI-linked government bonds rose by up to 0.2%. The corporate bond benchmark Tel-Bond 20 Index rose 0.07%.
In the stock market, Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq:MLNX; TASE:MLNX) bucked the market with a further rise of 1.3%, for the biggest gain among Tel Aviv 25 shares. UBS today raised its recommendation for the share from "Neutral" to "Buy" and raised its target price from $56 to $65, a 29% premium on yesterday's close on Nasdaq.
The banks led the market's losses, led by a 3% drop by Mizrahi Tefahot Bank (TASE:MZTF) and 2.1% drop by Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT). Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) fell 0.9% and Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI) fell 1.2% on the day's biggest turnover of NIS 44.8 million.
NICE Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: NICE; TASE: NICE) corrected down 1.7% after yesterday's 6.5% jump on reports of merger talks with rival Verint Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: VRNT).
On the Tel Aviv 100 Index, Given Imaging Ltd. (Nasdaq: GIVN; TASE: GIVN) fell 13%, after announced that there would be no acquisition of the company, and Discount Investment Corporation (TASE: DISI) said that it planned to sell its stake in it. Discount Investment fell 3.3%. Pluristem Therapeutics Ltd. (Nasdaq:PSTI; DAX: PJT: PLTR) rose 4.9%, after obtaining approval from Germany's Paul-Ehrlich-Institute approved a Phase II clinical trial of the company's placental stem cell therapy.
Mid-cap Brainsway Ltd. (TASE:BRIN) rose 3.4%, after obtaining Health Canada approval for its Deep TMS therapy for depression.
Alony Hetz Property and Investments Ltd. (TASE: ALHE) fell 2.1%, following the successful institutional tender for its Series 8 index-linked bond, in which it raised NIS 334 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 15, 2013
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