The First trading week of March on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) was marked by gains in all leading indices.
The TA-25 index which gained 4% over the week is now higher by 5.5% from its level at the beginning of the year, after a sharp rise of 75% rate of return attained in 2009.
The TA-100 index which also rose at the same rate is now higher by 7% from its level at the beginning of this year, after a sharp rise of 89% rate of return attained in 2009.
The Tel Tech-15 index of large technology companies stood out this week with an increase of 6.5%. The major financial institutions and large real estate shares gained 4.3% and 2.2%, respectively.
The new Biomed index launched this week rose by 8%. The index includes 25 companies from biotechnology and medical device sector and their total market cap value is more than $ 2 billion.
The Israeli treasury raised US $200 million this week in a local government bond issue, bringing the 2010 total to US $2.8 billion.
Central Bureau of Statistics indicates that the unemployment rate continues to fall, dropping to 7.4% at 2009 Q4, compared to 7.8% in Q3 and 8% in Q2 of 2009.