Tel Aviv Stocks Open Higher Ahead of Election Day as Markets Await Fed
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange marks its final trading session before national elections with positive arbitrage openings. Wall Street stabilizes as markets await the Federal Reserve decision.
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange trading concludes today ahead of tomorrow's national elections, with arbitrage shares pointing to a theoretical positive opening of about 0.3% for the Tel Aviv 35 index. NICE Systems stands out with a positive gap of 5.1%, Tower Semiconductor faces a negative gap of 0.5%, and Palo Alto Networks indicates a positive gap of 8.3%.
On Wall Street Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.23%, the S&P 500 lost 0.52%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.21%. While the technology sector stabilized following Thursday's sell-off, most S&P 500 sectors weakened. For the week, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 0.5% and 0.7% respectively, while the Dow added 0.4%. The energy sector surged 2.5% on Friday to reach a record high, driven by rising oil prices.
The central domestic event for the Israeli capital market is tomorrow's election and the resulting one-day trading halt. Globally, markets face a busy week featuring central bank interest rate decisions and major technology earnings reports, with the Federal Reserve widely expected to leave rates unchanged on Wednesday. Energy prices and signals regarding December policy trajectory are expected to carry more weight than the rate decision itself.
Market indices in Tel Aviv retreated on Friday, with the Tel Aviv 35 falling 1.01%, the Tel Aviv 125 dropping 0.81%, and the Tel Aviv 90 edging down 0.1%. The technology index lost 1.9%, with total equity trading volume reaching approximately 3.7 billion NIS. Over the full week, the Tel Aviv 35 declined 1.4%, while the Tel Aviv 90 advanced 2.2%.
Mitromics shares jumped 15.87% on Friday on a trading volume of roughly 5.67 million NIS, following a non-binding acquisition proposal from FIMI Opportunity Funds to inject 200 million NIS in exchange for a 50% stake post-allocation. The proposed price represents an approximate 8% discount to Friday's base price, and discussions remain subject to due diligence, a binding agreement, and regulatory approvals.
In the energy sector, NewMed Energy closed flat while Ratio Energies dipped 0.53%, following initiation of arbitration proceedings in London by Dalia Energy Companies to enforce a Leviathan gas supply agreement valued at approximately 6.7 billion dollars. Both NewMed and Ratio reject Dalia's claims, maintaining that the contract was lawfully terminated, with no ruling issued yet.
