Market Report / TA-25 beats trend to rise 0.2% for week
By Nathan Sheva
A decline in world markets drove down trading numbers on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange throughout the trading day yesterday, but shortly before the final bell most of the declines reversed after positive news from trading on Wall Street started pouring in and changed the atmosphe.
The TA-25 remained steady, at 1,101 points, to climb 0.2% over the week. The TA-100 dipped 0.3%, to 1,022, for a 0.4% rise overall on the week. The Tel-Tech softened by 2%. Turnover was NIS 1.75 billion.
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Overall the TASE evinced no particular direction this week, bobbing up and down while looking over its shoulder at last week's surprise spike in the consumer price index.
The spike in world petroleum prices and apparent lack of direction on the part of the New York Stock Exchange halted the upward correction to the TASE, which has gained 18% since mid-March.
Leading the downward charge in share prices yesterday were the banks; the banking index lost 0.9%. Defying the southward slide was Hapoalim, which rose 0.3% yesterday after leaping 5.5% on Wednesday. The bounce-back was, of course, in response to Hapoalim's offloading of its entire MBS portfolio to U.S. bond fund giant Pimco.
The investment banks are already responding to the sale by Bank Hapoalim with buy recommendations.
Bank Leumi shareholders were indifferent to the sale of 20% of Leumi Card to David Azrieli for NIS 360 million. The bank will record a profit of NIS 244 million for the sell-off, but yesterday its shares lost 2%.
Cellcom shares were a hot item yesterday, with 160 million of them changing hands on news that its controlling shareholder, Discount Investments (DIC), sold off 2% of the company's shares for a NIS 216 million profit.
The share was discounted by 3.5% below its market price. Cellcom shares nevertheless climbed by a respectable 2.7%.
Israel Chemicals shares have been fluctuating in recent days, following world ups and downs in fertilizer stocks.
Analysts at Psagot are forecasting that fertilizer prices will mellow out soon, and will start declining around 2010.
In consequence, they lifted their "buy" recommendation while lowering the price target of Israel Chemical shares to NIS 77 - 17% above current market price. Yesterday the share gained 1.5%.
Teva continued its downward slide, to which Bank Hapoalim may have given an additional push when it reduced its recommendation for the share to "hold." Teva share prices on the TASE sunk to a one-year low yesterday.
May we recommend a little Fluoxetine, Teva-made, of course?
Company reports continued to pile up, and the paper storm won't be through until late next week.
Bezeq reported stagnant revenues and profits in comparison to the parallel quarter, although its subsidiary companies have improved their results. Bezeq shares responded to the news by rising 0.4%.
The real estate index held steady despite a respectable 3% rise in the respectably positioned Africa Israel share, which is up 34% since the publication in late March of the company report for 2007.
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