Israel's equity market closed lower on Thursday after a session dominated by weakness in the Banking, Financials and Insurance sectors. At the end of trading in Tel Aviv, the TA 35 index registered a decline of 0.53%.
Among constituents, NICE Ltd (TASE:NICE) delivered the strongest performance on the TA 35, advancing 13.62% - a gain of 4,100.00 points - to finish at 34,200.00. Next Vision Stabilized Systems (TASE:NXSN) also posted notable gains, rising 4.89% or 1,460.00 points to close at 31,310.00. Energy-focused Navitas Petroleum LP Unit (TASE:NVPTp) added 2.89% or 360.00 points to reach 12,800.00 in late trade.
On the downside, Enlight Renewable Energy Ltd (TASE:ENLT) led the decliners, falling 6.11% or 1,430.00 points to end at 21,970.00. Camtek Ltd (TASE:CAMT) dropped 3.26% or 1,640.00 points to 48,620.00, while Tower Semiconductor Ltd (TASE:TSEM) declined 3.08% or 1,260.00 points to close at 39,680.00.
Market breadth favored losers: falling stocks outnumbered advancers by 311 to 165, and 71 issues finished unchanged on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
Two names reached new record levels during the session. Shares of Next Vision Stabilized Systems (TASE:NXSN) rose to all-time highs, gaining 4.89% or 1,460.00 to 31,310.00. Similarly, Navitas Petroleum LP Unit (TASE:NVPTp) advanced to an all-time high, up 2.89% or 360.00 to 12,800.00.
Commodities and currencies moved alongside the equity action. Crude oil for April delivery climbed 2.08% or 1.35 to $66.40 a barrel. Brent oil for April delivery increased 1.79% or 1.26 to $71.61 a barrel. The April Gold Futures contract rose 0.38% or 18.79 to trade at $5,028.29 a troy ounce.
In currency markets, the USD/ILS exchange rate was up 0.42% at 3.13, while EUR/ILS rose 0.27% to 3.69. The US Dollar Index Futures strengthened 0.21% to 97.83.
The session left the benchmark modestly lower with breadth skewed toward declines and a mixed picture across individual stocks and commodities. Observed strength in select technology and energy listings contrasted with pronounced weakness in a subset of renewable energy and semiconductor names, while oil and the dollar moved higher.