Prices were weaker on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange today. The Tel Aviv 100 index fell 0.69% to 318.12 points. The Ma’of index fell 0.77% to 332.23 points. Turnover totaled just $43 million (NIS 158 million).
Bank Hapoalim: Advances following Goldman Sachs deal
On a dull day like this one, the Bank Hapoalim share was particularly conspicuous. Turnover in the share reached NIS 13 million, and it rose 1.4%.
The Bank Hapoalim shares rose mainly because of US investment bank Goldman Sachs’s substantial investment in the bank. It will be recalled that, at the end of the week, Goldman Sachs bought 3.6% of the shares in the bank for $130 million, More than anything else, it was the deal price that interested speculative investors. Since the deal was done at a discount of 3.5% on the market price of the share at the end of the week (NIS 10.6), Bank Hapoalim fell 1% on Thursday.
However, looking at things less speculatively and with an eye to the long term, the US bank’s investment in Israel’s biggest bank is a step that has to be looked on positively. Goldman Sachs will distribute Bank Hapoalim shares among investors overseas, and thus increase the Israeli bank’s worldwide exposure, which is likely to attract new money to the share from abroad.
In addition, British investment bank Flemings today issued an extremely warm buy recommendation. Flemings is one of the dominant bodies on the Israeli capital market. It set a high target of NIS 16 for the Bank Hapoalim share, the highest price ever set for it.
Another statistic which partly explains the activity in Bank Hapoalim shares was published today by Meitav. According to Meitav’s figures, Bank Hapoalim is the most popular share among mutual fund managers, and in fact there are almost no fund managers for whom the Bank Hapoalim share is not among the five leading stocks in their share holdings.
Most other blue chip shares fell slightly to moderately. Stocks posting high turnovers, if measured in terms appropriate to a day of thin activity like today, included Bank Leumi, which fell 1.1% on turnover of NIS 9 million, and Discount Bank, which fell 2% on turnover of NIS 8.5 million.
In the shares of another bank, Mizrahi, the downward trend continued. Mizrahi shares, which began to be traded a week and a half ago, fell 1.25% today on turnover of NIS 8.3 million. The Mizrahi Bank share price has sunk to NIS 10.24, 7% below the issue closing price of NIS 11.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on June 21, 1998
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Israel business stocks shares TASE quotes quotations
Israel business stocks shares TASE quotes quotations
Israel business stocks shares TASE quotes quotations
Israel business stocks shares TASE quotes quotations
Israel business stocks shares TASE quotes quotations
Israel business stocks shares TASE quotes quotations
Israel business stocks shares TASE quotes quotations
Israel business stocks shares TASE quotes quotations
Israel business stocks shares TASE quotes quotations
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