Weekly Review: December 19-23, 2010

Trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) was marked this week by high share price volatility and declines in most leading indices.

The TA-25 index, which decreased 0.1% this week, closed with a year-to-date return of 14.0%, after recording a 75% gain in 2009. On December 20, the TA-25 index reached a new record at the value of 1314.73 points.

The TA-100 index, which decreased also 0.1%, closed a year-to-date return of 13.2%, after an 89% increase in 2009. The TA-100 index also reached a new record level this week, at the value of 1215.26 points.

The Tel Tech-15 index rose by 1.5%, the Real Estate-15 and the TA-Finance index lost 0.6%.

The companies Allot Communications, a leading provider of intelligent IP service optimization and Pluristem Therapeutics, a bio-therapeutics company, whose shares are traded on NASDAQ, began trading this week on the Tel – Aviv Stock Exchange as well. Currently, 54 companies are dually-listed on the TASE.

The Israeli treasury raised US $440 million this week in a local government bond issues, bringing the 2010 total to US $15.1 billion, after total of US $17.4 billion raised in 2009.