The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) was flat today. The Tel Aviv 25 Index was unchanged at 1,203.47 points, the Tel Aviv 100 Index edged up 0.08% to 1,094.06 points, and the BlueTech 50 Index rose 0.41% to 312.20 points. Turnover was NIS 1.18 billion.
A final rally pushed TASE to its starting levels today, despite mixed sessions on European markets and at the opening on Wall Street.
In the foreign currency market, the Bank of Israel set the shekel-dollar representative exchange rate at NIS 3.566/$, down 0.08% on yesterday's rate, and set the shekel-euro representative exchange rate at NIS 4.727/€, down 0.23%.
In the bond market, long-term Shahar unlinked shekel government bonds and long term Galil CPI-linked government fell. The corporate bond benchmark Tel-Bond 20 Index rose 0.06%.
In the stock market, Israel Chemicals Ltd. (TASE: ICL) fell another 2.7% to NIS 28.48, for the biggest loss among Tel Aviv 25 shares and on the biggest turnover of NIS 280.5 million, following yesterday's 18% plunge. Parent company, Israel Corporation (TASE: ILCO) fell another 0.3%. Today, Merrill Lynch cut its target price for Israel Chemicals by 19% to NIS 35, and cut its profit forecast for the company, and Barclays Capital cut its target 23% to NIS 36.
Telcos continued to gain ground. Bezeq Israeli Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (TASE: BEZQ) rose 1.7%, while mobile carriers Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL) rose 2.2% and Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR) rose 2.7% for the biggest gain among Tel Aviv 25 shares.
Small-cap Allium Medical Ltd. (TASE: ALMD) rose 3.4%, after obtaining US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its urological stent, and InsuLine Medical Ltd. (TASE: INSL) rose 8.7% in heavy trading, after an update on its marketing agreement with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) to market the company's diabetes patch in Germany.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 31, 2013
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