The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) fell today. The Tel Aviv 25 Index rose 0.69% to 1,207.51 points, the Tel Aviv 100 Index rose 0.74% to 989.64 points, but the BlueTech 50 Index fell 0.45% to 326.14 points. Turnover was NIS 1.26 billion.
The TASE rebounded today from yesterday's drop, despite losses on European markets but in line with gains at the opening on Wall Street.
In the bond market, both long-term Shahar unlinked shekel government bonds where unchanged and long-term Galil CPI-linked government bonds rose by up to 0.2%. The benchmark Tel-Bond 60 Index rose 0.06%.
In the foreign currency market, the Bank of Israel set the shekel-dollar representative exchange rate at NIS 3.816/$, down 0.18% on Friday's rate, and set the shekel-euro representative exchange rate at NIS 4.985/€, down 0.10%.
In the stock market, energy exploration companies led the TASE rebound. Leviathan and Tamar partners Avner Oil and Gas LP (TASE: AVNR.L) and Delek Drilling LP (TASE: DEDR.L) rose 3.5% and 3.7%, respectively, and their parent company Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) rose 5.7% for the biggest gain among Tel Aviv 25 shares, after confirming that Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (ASX: WPL) was in talks to acquire a stake in Leviathan. Their partner in the gas field, Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP (TASE:RATI.L), rose 6.8%.
NICE Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: NICE; TASE: NICE) fell 2.2% for the biggest loss among Tel Aviv 25 shares, and its high-tech peers on the Index, EZchip Semiconductor Ltd. (Nasdaq: EZCH; TASE:EZCH) fell 1.2% and Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq:MLNX; TASE:MLNX) fell 0.2%, on the day's biggest turnover of NIS 102 million. Clal Finance today cut its target price for Mellanox to $115, although it reiterated its "Buy" recommendation.
On the Tel Aviv 100 index, insurance companies rose strongly, led by a 4.4% gain by Menorah Mivtachim Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MORA).
IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH) fell 0.7%, but unit Discount Investment Corporation (TASE: DISI) corrected upwards 15.2% today, while Given Imaging Ltd. (Nasdaq: GIVN; TASE: GIVN) corrected downwards 6.3%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 22, 2012
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