Terrorism? Tel Aviv stocks didn't even blink, adding more than 1%
19.1.06 | 18:25 By Sharon Shpurer
Tel Aviv stocks gained ground on Thursday despite the terror attack shortly before closing. A suicide bomber struck at the heart of the city, detonating himself at a schwarma stand in the old central bus station area, killing one and gravely wounding several more people - at least 15 were injured, yet stocks continued to rise.
The Israel Securities Authority had done a study showing that the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange had become inured to terrorism, losing an average of 0.4% on days of attacks. Even the ISA study didn't indicate that stocks would rise, though.
The TA-25 index added 1% to 838.5 points: of that, it rose 0.3% after the attack. The blue-chips index is only 1% below its all-time record high, which it reached the day before Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered his serious stroke.
The TA-100 index powered ahead by 1.3% to 858 points. Over the week the index rose 2%.
The TelTech-15 index starred, rising 2.6% to 454 points. Total turnover in stocks remained very high, at NIS 1.2 billion.
You could call it a day of ignoring the circumstances. Tel Aviv investors began the day by ignoring the negative sentiment on Wall Street and finished it ignoring the presumed intentions of the terrorists. In any event, the bank stocks and, again, real estate shares were again the drivers behind the gains. Yeter-30 broad market stocks also rose strongly.
The banks index rose by 2.4% to 1,315 points. From the start of 2006, the banks index has risen almost 6%.
Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) rose 2.5% on turnover of NIS 44 million. Leumi advised the Bank of Israel that it has made up its mind: if it has to sell its holdings in two of the three conglomerates in which it owns stakes, then it chose to keep its The Israel Corporation stock. It will sell its interests in Africa Israel and Migdal, Leumi said. After the selloff, Bank Leumi will remain with an 18.4% interest in The Israel Corporation, which is controlled by the Ofer family.
While on the banks, shares in Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI) charged ahead by 2.5%. Turnover was a massive NIS 141 million. Bank Discount added 2.6%.
The Real Estate 15 index climbed 2.2% to 439 points: this year, on assessments that the real estate sector is finally starting to recover, the index has risen more than 13%. Delek Real Estate added 4% on heavy turnover, for it, of NIS 5.5 million. Azorim rose 3.8%, Jerusalem Economic added 2.2% but Gazit Globe bucked the trend and lost 0.6%.
Alrov Real Estate had been ahead as much as 4% but it settled for a gain of 1.4% on turnover of almost NIS 10 million. Yesterday the stock dived 16.6% on huge turnover of NIS 38 million, the fifth highest on the market. In the space of two weeks shares in Alrov Real Estate climbed 200%. During the year 2005, the stock multiplied its value by ten.
Only five of the stocks on the Yeter-30 broad market index lost ground today. LIMS gained 1.7% on turnover of NIS 2.5 million; Isramco added 1.2% and the engineering group Baran gained 4.4% on heavy turnover of NIS 17.5 million.
Dual listed stocks were also in the green, despite the drops on Wall Street the night before and even though some started with negative arbitrage gaps. Elbit Systems gained 1.4%, Nice Systems added 3.1% and Partner Communications rose 0.5%.
haaretz.com
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