The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) rose today. The Tel Aviv 25 index rose 0.39% to 1067.98 points, the Tel Aviv 100 index rose 1.16% to 1078.91 points, and the Tel-Tech rose 0.85% to 407.71 points. Turnover was NIS 927 billion.
Real estate led the TASE upward today, as the market shrugged off slides on international markets and repercussions from the Winograd committee interim report. After a morning dip, stocks rallied in the afternoon and consolidated the gain by the close. The shekel depreciated 0.27% against the dollar to NIS 4.035/$ in the foreign currency market, and shekel bonds rose slightly.
Merrill Lynch suggests an investment strategy based on defensive companies in the event of volatility in emerging markets. The investment bank recommends the following Israeli shares under this scenario: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA), banks, Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE: ESLT), and Strauss Group Ltd. (TASE:STEL). Merrill Lynch concluded by saying that the TASE would come in line with emerging markets in the near future, and a low beta in investment portfolios was advisable through the right mix of stocks.
In the stock market, real estate shares continued to stand out. Africa-Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE:AFIL; Pink Sheets:AFIVY.PK) rose 0.2% on the session’s largest turnover. The Real Estate 15 index rose 2.8%. The index has more than tripled since it debut at the beginning of 2005.
Jerusalem Economic Corp. (TASE:ECJM) (JEC) rose another 4.3% as it continues to ride in Africa-Israel’s wake in anticipation of its flotation of its Russian assets. Africa-Israel Housing Ltd. (TASE:AFHS) rose 14.9%, but Gazit-Globe Ltd. (TASE: GLOB) fell 0.2%.
Among blue-chip stocks, Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE: ESLT) rose 4.9% after UBS raised its recommendation for the share to “Buy” at a target price of $51 on the basis of an upside from the merger with Tadiran Communications Ltd. (TASE: TDCM). Teva rose 1.2% ahead of the publication of its financials tomorrow. The results are expected to be anemic, and the bulk of attention will focus on any reference to the Merck KGaA (XETRA:MRK) tender.
Bank Hapoalim (LSE: BKHD; TASE: POLI) and Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) both rose 0.5%, and both Israel Chemicals Ltd. (TASE: CHIM) and Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd. (TASE: MAIN) rose slightly.
Retalix Ltd. (Nasdaq: RTLX; TASE: RTLX) stood out with a rise of 4.6% as the market waits to see if reports of the company’s acquisition are true.
Frutarom Industries Ltd. (TASE: FRUT; LSE:FRUT; Pink Sheets:FRUTF.PK) rose 2.5% after Clal Finance Batucha reiterated its “Outperform” recommendation and raised its target price to NIS 41.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on May 1, 2007
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