Israel equity markets closed with a slight gain on Wednesday as gains in the Banking, Financials and Oil & Gas sectors helped push the TA 35 up 0.03% at the end of trading in Tel Aviv.
On the index, the top performer was Camtek Ltd (TASE:CAMT), which finished the session 4.56% higher - gaining 1,800.00 points to close at 41,300.00. First International Bank of Israel Ltd (TASE:FIBI) also recorded a notable increase, adding 2.97% or 660.00 points to end at 22,900.00. Mizrahi Tefahot (TASE:MZTF) rose 2.76% or 580.00 points to finish at 21,560.00 in late trade.
Decliners on the TA 35 included Harel (TASE:HARL), which fell 4.18% or 710.00 points to close at 16,290.00. Shapir Engineering Industry (TASE:SPEN) dropped 3.55% or 165.00 points to end at 4,485.00, while Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TASE:TEVA) slipped 3.13% or 330.00 points to 10,210.00.
Market breadth on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange was tilted toward falling issues, with 325 stocks declining compared with 139 advancing; 92 stocks finished unchanged.
Commodity markets showed sizable moves during the session. Crude oil for August delivery rose 7.13% or 5.02 to $75.46 a barrel. Brent oil for September delivery climbed 7.50% or 5.56 to $79.72 a barrel. In metals trading, the August Gold Futures contract declined 2.46% or 102.18 to trade at $4,055.22 a troy ounce.
On the currency front, USD/ILS was quoted at 3.04, with the published change at 0.10%; EUR/ILS was 3.47, with a reported change of 0.05%. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.15% at 100.93 at the close.
Overall, the session reflected modest upward pressure on the benchmark driven by specific sector gains, while the broader exchange showed more names declining than rising. Commodities, particularly crude and Brent, registered strong moves higher, while gold gave back value. Forex and the US Dollar Index moved modestly in the session.