Weekly Review: 28 October – 1 November 2012

weekly review

 

 

28 October – 1 November 2012

 

 

 

The final week of trading in October on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) was marked by price gains in most leading indices.

 

 

                                      

TA-25

The TA-25 index increased 0.8% over the week, bringing year-to-date returns up to 12.4%.

 

TA-100

The TA-100 index gained 0.8% over the week, bringing year-to-date returns to 10.6%.

 

Bank of  Israel Interest Rate

The Bank of Israel lowered its interest rate by one quarter of a percent for the third time this year, to a level of 2.0% per annum, starting November 2012.

Government Bonds

The Government of Israel floated US $485 million bonds on the local market this past week, bringing the year-to-date total of government bond issues to US $18.5 billion, as opposed to US $18 billion for the entire 2011 year.

 

Unemployment

Figures released by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics indicate that the unemployment rate fell to 6.7% in the third quarter of 2012, from 6.9% in the second quarter of the year.

Composite State-of-the-Economy Index

Figures released by the Bank of Israel indicate that the Composite State-of-the-Economy index was up 0.2% in September. This increase signals continued steady growth .for the Israeli economy for the past year, albeit at a pace lower than that posted for the first three quarters of 2011.

 

 

Sector Indices

 

Weekly

YTD

TA Bluetech-50

1.5%

22.5%

TA Banks

(1.1%)

17.7%

TA Real Estate-15

1.0%

7.3%

 

Foreign Exchange

 

Weekly

YTD

Dollar/NIS

(0.1%)

1.3%

Euro/NIS

0.2%

1.6%

 

 

 

 

 

 

Facts & Figures

The Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange features in September 2012:

·   556 companies listing equities.

·   440 index-tracking products.

·   33 series of government bonds.

·   648 series of corporate bonds.

·   1,283 mutual funds.

·   Market Cap. (US$ billions)

o    Equities - 156

o    Government bonds – 111

o    Corporate bonds - 90

About TASE

Established in September 1935, the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange is Israel’s sole stock exchange, offering an increasingly sophisticated range of products to investors, including equity, corporate bonds, treasury bills and notes, index products and derivatives.

International

In recent years, the exchange has enhanced its international presence, signing Memorandums of Understanding with the London Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Toronto Stock Exchange and NYSE-Euronext.