The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) fell today. The Tel Aviv 25 Index fell 0.54% to 1,341.67 points, the Tel Aviv 100 Index fell 0.44% to 1,211.10 points, while the BlueTech 50 Index fell 0.22% to 339.48 points. Turnover was NIS 1 billion.
The TASE fell today, despite gains on European markets and at the opening on Wall Street ahead of the Christmas holiday.
In the foreign currency market, the strengthening of the shekel continued after the Bank of Israel kept the January interest rate unchanged at 1%. The Bank of Israel set the shekel-dollar representative exchange rate at NIS 3.488, down 0.428% on yesterday's rate, and the shekel-euro representative exchange rate at NIS 4.77/€, down 0.559%.
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 fell 0.35%.
In the stock market, Opko Health Inc. (NYSE: OPK; TASE: OPK) fell 2% for the biggest fall on the Tel Aviv 25 Index while Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) fell 1%.
Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI) bucked the market rising 0.15% on the day's largest trading turnover, while Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) rose 0.14% and Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT) rose 0.9% even though all its branches were closed today due to a strike.
Elsewhere in the market most share fell including Bezeq Israeli Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (TASE: BEZQ), which lost 1.62%, Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL) was down 0.88%, Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR) was down 0.37%.
Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) was down 2% and its energy exploration units Avner Oil and Gas LP (TASE: AVNR.L) and Delek Drilling Limited Partnership (TASE: DEDR.L) were down 1.44% and 0.8% respectively.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 24, 2013
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