Israel equity markets finished lower on Thursday, with the TA-35 ending the session down 1.98% at the close in Tel Aviv. Losses were concentrated in Technology, Communication and Biomed stocks, which collectively pressured the benchmark.
Top performers
- NICE Ltd (TASE:NICE) gained 2.80% - up 940.00 points to finish at 34,490.00.
- Shapir Engineering Industry (TASE:SPEN) rose 2.69% - up 83.00 points to close at 3,166.00.
- ICL Israel Chemicals Ltd (TASE:ICL) increased 1.59% - up 27.00 points to end at 1,727.00.
Lagging issues
- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TASE:TEVA) fell 5.40% - down 610.00 points to trade at 10,680.00 at the close.
- Next Vision Stabilized Systems (TASE:NXSN) declined 4.14% - down 1,220.00 points to finish at 28,240.00.
- Enlight Renewable Energy Ltd (TASE:ENLT) slipped 4.03% - down 760.00 points to 18,100.00.
Market breadth in Tel Aviv was tilted toward decliners: 344 stocks fell versus 133 advancers, while 71 issues ended unchanged. The imbalance highlights the broadly negative tone across sectors at the session close.
Commodity markets moved lower alongside the equity weakness. Crude oil for March delivery dropped 3.36% - down $2.19 to $62.95 a barrel. Brent futures for April fell 3.27% - down $2.27 to $67.19 a barrel. Precious metals were also weaker, with the April Gold Futures contract declining 2.39% - down $118.49 to trade at $4,832.31 a troy ounce.
Foreign exchange rates showed modest moves against the shekel. The USD/ILS pair rose 0.57% to 3.12, and EUR/ILS increased 0.44% to 3.68. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.24% at 97.72, reflecting a slightly firmer dollar in futures trading.
Takeaway
The TA-35’s near 2% decline on the session reflected concentrated weakness in specific sectors and a larger number of falling stocks than rising ones, while commodity prices and FX moves reinforced a risk-off market backdrop heading into the next trading day.