Israel's stock market finished the trading day higher on Wednesday, driven by advances in the Insurance, Communication and Technology sectors. At the close in Tel Aviv, the TA 35 increased 0.87% and registered a new all time high.
The session's top performers on the TA 35 included Elbit Systems Ltd (TASE:ESLT), which rose 4.33% or 9,190.00 points to trade at 221,190.00 at the close. OPC Energy Ltd (TASE:OPCE) added 4.19% or 391.00 points to end at 9,725.00, and Camtek Ltd (TASE:CAMT) advanced 4.06% or 1,960.00 points to close at 50,260.00.
At the other end of the index, Azrieli Group Ltd (TASE:AZRG) dropped 4.03% or 1,890.00 points to finish at 45,000.00. ICL Israel Chemicals Ltd (TASE:ICL) declined 3.93% or 70.00 points to 1,711.00, while NICE Ltd (TASE:NICE) was down 1.95% or 600.00 points to close at 30,100.00.
Market breadth on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange showed more falling issues than rising ones: 247 stocks declined while 222 advanced, and 79 ended the session unchanged.
OPC Energy Ltd (TASE:OPCE) reached an all time high in the session, rising 4.19% or 391.00 to 9,725.00. By contrast, NICE Ltd (TASE:NICE) moved to a five-year low, slipping 1.95% or 600.00 to 30,100.00.
Commodity markets reflected notable moves during the same trading window. Crude oil for April delivery rose 3.10% or 1.93 to $64.19 a barrel. Brent oil for April delivery climbed 2.97% or 2.00 to $69.42 a barrel. Precious metals also advanced, with the April Gold Futures contract up 2.26% or 110.69 to trade at $5,016.59 a troy ounce.
On the currency front, USD/ILS was effectively unchanged, moving 0.05% to 3.10, while EUR/ILS dipped 0.24% to 3.66. The US Dollar Index Futures gained 0.30% to stand at 97.36.
The close highlighted a session in which several large-cap technology and defense names contributed to the benchmark's rise even as a greater number of individual stocks fell. Commodity price moves and modest currency shifts accompanied the equity gains.