The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) fell today. The Tel Aviv 25 Index fell 1.94% to 1,218.0 points, the Tel Aviv 100 Index fell 1.70% to 1,085.80 points, and the BlueTech 50 Index fell 1.55% to 310.53 points. Turnover was NIS 2.07 billion.
A TASE fell hard today across the board, except for bonds, in line with losses on European markets and at the opening on Wall Street. Tel Aviv 25 options for February expired with a loss of 2.2%. The Tel Aviv 25 Index fell 0.2% for the week, after rising 0.8% last week. The TASE will closed on Sunday for Purim.
In the foreign currency market, the Bank of Israel set the shekel-dollar representative exchange rate at NIS 3.673/$, up 0.27% on yesterday's rate, and set the shekel-euro representative exchange rate at NIS 4.842/€, down 1.19%.
In the bond market, long-term Shahar unlinked shekel government bonds rose by up to 0.2% and long term Galil CPI-linked government bonds rose by up to 0.3%. The corporate bond benchmark Tel-Bond 20 Index rose 0.12%.
In the stock market, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) fell 0.4% on the day's biggest turnover of NIS 164 million.
Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq:MLNX; TASE:MLNX) and EZchip Semiconductor Ltd. (Nasdaq: EZCH; TASE:EZCH) fell 3.8% and 3.9%, respectively, for the biggest losses among Tel Aviv 25 shares. Their high-tech peer, NICE Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: NICE; TASE: NICE) fell 0.9%.
Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) and Mizrahi Tefahot Bank (TASE:MZTF) both fell 3% to lead the banks downward, while Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI) and Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT) fell 2%.
Tamar partners Avner Oil and Gas LP (TASE: AVNR.L) and Oil Refineries Ltd. (TASE:ORL) were the only Tel Aviv 25 shares to buck the market, with a gain of 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively.
On the Tel Aviv 100 Index, Pluristem Therapeutics Ltd. (Nasdaq:PSTI; DAX: PJT: PLTR) rose 4% after obtaining US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) orphan drug status for its stem cell treatment for aplastic anemia. Babylon Ltd. (TASE:BBYL) fell 6%.
Elsewhere in the market, IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH) fell 10.8% after rising 31% yesterday. Kardan NV (TASE: KRNV;AEX:KARD) fell 2% on a Chinese deal.
Israel Land Development Company Energy Ltd. (TASE: IE) rose 33.7%, without any material announcement, and Modiin Energy LP (TASE:MDIN.L) corrected upwards 6.1%. Gulliver Energy Ltd. (TASE: GLVR) rose 10.3% and Shefa Yamim Ltd. (TASE: SEFA) rose 10.9%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 21, 2013
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