Israel's equities ended the session lower on Thursday, with the TA-35 sliding 1.10% at the close. Declines were led by stocks in the Insurance, Financials and Biomed sectors, which collectively pushed the market down.
Among the index components, NICE Ltd (TASE:NICE) was the top performer, gaining 3.68% or 1,230.00 points to finish at 34,690.00. Strauss Group (TASE:STRS) rose 3.33% or 440.00 points to close at 13,640.00, and ICL Israel Chemicals Ltd (TASE:ICL) advanced 3.09% or 49.00 points to end the day at 1,633.00.
At the other end of the tape, Menora Miv Hld (TASE:MMHD) recorded the steepest loss, falling 7.18% or 3,700.00 points to trade at 47,830.00 at the close. Camtek Ltd (TASE:CAMT) dropped 6.62% or 3,630.00 points to finish at 51,220.00, while Tower Semiconductor Ltd (TASE:TSEM) declined 5.94% or 3,530.00 points to end at 55,940.00.
Overall market breadth on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange tilted negative, with 241 stocks closing lower, 232 advancing and 78 unchanged.
Commodity markets showed notable volatility during the session. Crude oil for May delivery gained 4.55% or 4.11 to trade at $94.43 a barrel. Brent crude for June delivery rose 4.60% or 4.47 to $101.73 a barrel. In metals, the June Gold Futures contract declined 2.43% or 111.33 to trade at $4,474.17 a troy ounce.
Currency and dollar measures also moved: USD/ILS was up 0.21% at 3.12, while EUR/ILS was essentially unchanged, up 0.05% at 3.61. The US Dollar Index Futures increased 0.25% to 99.65.
Market participants will note the session's concentration of losses in a small group of sectors and the simultaneous strong moves in energy and metal markets. The day's trading left the benchmark lower and breadth slightly tilted toward decliners as commodity and currency swings accompanied the equity declines.