The Tel Aviv 25 Index rose 0.2% today to close at 1,341.89 points, breaking the previous all-time high of 1,340 points reached on January 19. The Tel Aviv 100 Index rose 0.41% to 1,221.59 points.
Trading ended early at 2:45 pm for the Passover holiday, and the market will not reopen until Tuesday. At one point the Tel Aviv 25 was up 0.3% at 1,343 points but the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) benchmark index fell back towards the close.
On Sunday, the Bank of Israel will announce the interest rate decision for May.
Wall Street rose strongly yesterday, driven by commodities whose prices are soaring. Oil futures rose 3% in New York yesterday to $111.30 per barrel, and the price of gold rose 0.4% to $1,501 per ounce.
Yesterday, a senior Ministry of Finance official told "Globes' that S&P's downgrade of the US debt outlook was immaterial. "We don’t see an actual downgrade of the outlook, neither in the immediate term nor even in the medium term. That is why we're unconcerned about the government's ability to raise capital."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 21, 2011
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