The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange finished the week down yesterday, after having risen for the past four weeks. The week's final trading day was marked by little movement either way and light trading volume - despite a day of gains in Europe.
The TA-25 lost almost 0.2% and ended the week at 1,078 points, down a total of 1.9% for the week. The TA-100 lost 0.6% to close at 990 points yesterday, down 2.2% for the week. The TelTech-15 lost 1.2%. Turnover was below average at NIS 1.5 billion.
Israel Chemicals lost another 3.2%, and was off a total of 12% for the week. In recent days the share has suffered losses - similar to those of other fertilizer manufacturers - in light of the drop in grain prices, and profit taking in the stocks. Despite the big drop in the last week, the share is still up 24% so far this year, much better than the TA-25, which is off 10% for the same period.
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The Banks-5 rose 0.5%. Bank Hapoalim gained 2.4%, and completed an 8% gain for the week. Teva, which opened the day with a negative arbitrage gap, ened the day with a gain of 0.3% after the firm reported strong results for its Copaxone flagship drug for multiple sclerosis.
Investment bank Merrill Lynch raised its forecasts for the company over the next two years, but still left the share with a Neutral recommendation. Teva will release its first quarter results next Tuesday.
The Real Estate-15 fell 1.1%, and was off 2.6% for the week. Gazit Globe fell another 1.5%, it seems still under the influence of poor recommendations for its Equity One U.S. subsidiary, including a Sell recommendation for the share.
Strauss rose 1.5% on news that Blackstone and Texas Pacific were competing to invest $300 million in its coffee operations.
Mid- and small-cap stocks fell more than the big boys. The Mid-Cap-120 and the Mid-Cap-50 fell 3% and 2% respectively.
The negotiations between the Histadrut labor federation and the management of the TASE on a new collective bargaining agreement blew up yesterday.
In response, the head of the union, Yitzhak Lerner, is now threatening to renew work sanctions after a 10-day respite.
On Sunday, the stock exchange's management will meet to decide whether to shorten the trading day, as they did during the first round of sanctions. Then, the TASE shortened the trading day by almost three hours, in fear that employees would take action and disrupt normal trading.
In April, the 150 exchange employees received salaries 15% below normal as TASE management deducted their normal overtime and other extra-hour benefits, since they did not work extra hours.
The Histadrut said the TASE has gone backward in its negotiating positions and the gap is now larger than before. Employees want dozens of temporary workers to be hired as permanent employees.
The union said management's demands will only make the situation worse, and that negotiations have returned to their starting point as the TASE refused to grant any of the workers' wage demands either.
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