Israel's benchmark TA 35 closed higher on Friday, finishing the trading day up 0.32% as gains in the Banking, Oil & Gas and Insurance sectors supported the market.
At the close in Tel Aviv, the headline index recorded a modest advance. Among individual components, Tower Semiconductor Ltd (TASE:TSEM) posted the largest uptick, rising 4.27% - an increase of 1,670.00 points - to finish at 40,740.00. Camtek Ltd (TASE:CAMT) followed with a 3.19% gain, adding 1,370.00 points to close at 44,310.00. Nova (TASE:NVMI) also traded higher, climbing 2.57% or 3,400.00 points to end the session at 135,500.00.
On the downside, Ormat Technologies (TASE:ORA) led decliners, falling 4.04% - a drop of 1,600.00 points - to settle at 38,000.00. ICL Israel Chemicals Ltd (TASE:ICL) slipped 2.43%, down 42.00 points to 1,685.00, while Amot Investments Ltd (TASE:AMOT) fell 1.96%, losing 48.00 points to close at 2,402.00.
Market breadth on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange was tilted toward losers, with 250 stocks declining compared with 190 advancing and 108 finishing unchanged.
Commodities trading saw gains. Crude oil for March delivery rose 1.19% - up 0.75 - to $64.04 a barrel. Brent oil for April delivery increased 1.27% or 0.86 to reach $68.41 a barrel. Precious metals also gained, with the April Gold Futures contract climbing 1.47% - an increase of 71.84 - to trade at $4,961.34 a troy ounce.
In foreign exchange markets, the shekel strengthened against major currencies as USD/ILS fell 0.65% to 3.11, and EUR/ILS declined 0.33% to 3.68. The US Dollar Index Futures eased 0.20% to 97.51.
These moves left the TA 35 modestly higher at the close, with sector-level strength in banking, oil and insurance offset by notable single-stock declines. The session also featured upward pressure in crude, Brent and gold prices alongside a softer US dollar on futures markets.