The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) rose today. The Tel Aviv 25 index closed up 0.59% at 504.15 points, the Tel Aviv 100 index rose 1% to 534.39 points, and the Tel-Tech 15 index gained 1.79% to 375.24 points. Turnover totaled NIS 698 million.
The TASE players couldn’t have hoped for a better close to the year. Turnovers increased, the market never stopped going up, and the 2004 economic forecasts are extremely optimistic as far as the stock market is concerned. The good mood continued today, the last day of the year. The Tel Aviv 25 index rose 51% in 2003, the Tel Aviv 100 index 60.7%, and the Tel Tech index 128%.
Dankners sell more of Matav
The Teva and Bezeq shares attracted the market’s biggest turnovers today. Bezeq was up 2.56% on a NIS 100 million turnover, while Teva gained 1.26% on a NIS 45 million turnover. “Globes” reported today that the recent sanctions by Bezeq workers were jeopardizing the publication of the company’s prospectus, and Bezeq would not meet the timetable set by the Government Companies Authority. Bezeq is scheduled to publish its prospectus in February, on the basis of the company’s third quarter financial report.
Trading was also heavy in Matav-Cable Systems Media, although to a lesser extent than Teva and Bezeq; the share rose 2.44% on a NIS 16.1 million turnover. The interest in the share is attributed to a further sale of the company’s shares by Dankner Investments 400,000 shares at NIS 34.5% per share, 0.2% higher than the share’s opening price. Dankner Investments sold Matav shares for NIS 44 million a few weeks ago.
Bank Leumi hits two-year peak
The banks continued on their northward path. Bank Leumi rose 0.32% to NIS 8.32, its highest level since early 2002. Bank Hapoalim had an even better day, rising 1.22% to equal its early 2001 share price. Israel Discount Bank added 1.3%.
Tesnet jumped 2.7% today, thanks to a new contract. The software testing company today announced that it had won a NIS 9 million, three-year project from British retail chain Marks and Spencer. Tesnet will test Marks and Spencer’s software under an outsourcing agreement. Tesnet, a subcontractor in the project, will use its automated tools to test the software’s ability to handle functions and loads.
Another prominent share today was Arazim Investment, which is continually reporting real estate sales and purchases in Britain. The share gained 1.5% today, after the company reported the purchase of a building in Britain for $82 million. Arazim said that the building would yield $5.7 million in annual revenue, and was leased to a large information technology firm for 15 years.
Other companies reporting major real estate deals today included Ashtrom Properties, Industrial Building, and Secom, which sold their share of the government compounds in Beer Sheva and Haifa to Migdal Insurance. Ashtrom Properties, whose share soared 16.15%, will report an NIS 11.5 million capital gain on the transaction. Secom will post a NIS 20 million capital gain, and Industrial Building, whose share surged 4.21%, a NIS 24 million capital gain. All these companies’ capital gains will be recorded in their fourth quarter reports.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on December 31, 2003