Israel's stock market finished the trading day in negative territory on Thursday, with the benchmark TA 35 ending the session down 0.95%.
Sector pressure came from Communication, Banking and Financials stocks, which collectively weighed on the broader market. At the exchange level, decliners outnumbered advancers by 230 to 211, while 118 issues finished unchanged.
Top performers
- Shapir Engineering Industry (TASE:SPEN) led gains on the TA 35, climbing 8.63% - an increase of 387.00 points - to close at 4,870.00. The rise pushed Shapir to an all-time high at the close.
- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TASE:TEVA) added 2.57%, up 245.00 points, finishing the day at 9,775.00.
- Navitas Petroleum LP Unit (TASE:NVPTp) also posted a positive move, increasing 2.28% or 290.00 points to end at 13,000.00.
Lagging names
- Tower Semiconductor Ltd (TASE:TSEM) was the session's biggest decliner on the TA 35, falling 5.85% - a drop of 4,590.00 points - to settle at 73,930.00.
- Next Vision Stabilized Systems (TASE:NXSN) declined 4.15%, down 1,000.00 points to 23,090.00 at the close.
- Nova (TASE:NVMI) decreased 3.55%, a fall of 5,160.00 points, ending the session at 140,040.00.
Overall, individual stock movements were mixed but tilted toward the downside, reflecting the sector-led drag on the headline index.
Commodities and currency moves
In commodity markets, crude oil for August delivery ticked up 0.04% or 0.03 to $79.63 a barrel. Brent oil for September delivery slipped 0.04% or 0.03 to $84.92 a barrel. Precious metals posted declines, with the August Gold Futures contract falling 1.29% or 52.28 to trade at $3,999.52 a troy ounce.
On the foreign exchange side, USD/ILS rose 1.11% to 3.02, while EUR/ILS increased 0.91% to 3.46.
Market context
The day's action left the TA 35 lower by 0.95% at the close, and the broader TASE index was down 3.08% for the session. The distribution of winners and losers, plus the movements in commodities and local currency pairs, framed a trading day where select large-cap gains were not enough to offset sector-driven weakness.
The US Dollar Index Futures were reported up 0.25% at 100.52 by the close. Market participants saw uneven performance across names as investor focus remained on sector trends and individual stock volatility.