Israeli stocks surge midweek; TA 35 hits new all-time high
The Israeli stock market continued its positive momentum on Wednesday, driven by a strong rebound in financial, insurance and banking stocks, which helped the TA 35 index set a new record high.
At the end of trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, the TA 35 index rose 1.57% to a record high, thanks to strong cash flows into blue-chip stocks in the finance and defense technology sectors.
Standing Stocks
The day's gainers were Phoenix Holdings Ltd (TASE: PHOE), which jumped 6.31% (445 points) to an all-time high of 7,500. The positive results came from expectations of better-than-expected second-quarter profits and the insurance company's portfolio expansion.
It was followed by Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services (TASE: HARL), which rose 5.39% to 6,293, as stable interest rates supported investor sentiment. Elbit Systems Ltd (TASE: ESLT), a leading defence technology provider, also rose 4.75% to 149,000, boosted by news of a new defence contract with an Asian country.
Stocks fall
On the other side, Nova Ltd (TASE: NVMI) led the declines, falling 2.22% to 69,610, as investors booked profits after a series of strong gains. Sapiens International (TASE: SPNS) and Shikun & Binui (TASE: SKBN) lost 2.06% and 1.54%, respectively.
Across the board, gainers (320) outnumbered losers (144), with 73 stocks remaining unchanged.
Commodities and currencies
Oil prices fell slightly during the session:
WTI crude for June delivery fell 0.54% to $58.77 a barrel.
Brent crude for July delivery fell 0.68% to $61.73 a barrel.
Gold futures for June delivery also fell 0.83%, trading around $3,394.29 an ounce.
In the currency market, USD/ILS fell 0.39% to 3.59, while EUR/ILS fell 0.41% to 4.08. The USD Index Futures rose slightly by 0.14% to 99.19.
ESLT: Potential breakout or just a short-term bounce?
With Elbit Systems (ESLT) among the market's leading stocks, investors cannot help but wonder: Is this the beginning of a new growth cycle? Investing.com’s ProPicks AI tool – which features a portfolio of growth stocks picked by artificial intelligence – has correctly predicted several stocks that have risen more than 150% over the past year.
If ESLT is on your watchlist, checking to see if it gets the AI nod might be a smart move.