Wall Street Collapse Catches Up with Tel Aviv

Stocks in Tel Aviv plummeted Thursday following the sell-off during the Rosh HaShanah holiday and indications of a further downturn on Thursday before the Israeli exchange closed for trading as New York opened. Plunging oil prices and the clear signs of a recession in the United States contributed to a sharp drop in the shares of potash producers.

Israel Chemicals fell 14.4 percent and Makhteshim Agan dropped 9.5 percent. The real-estate index fell 15.8 percent, and Fishman Holdings subsidiary Jerusalem Economic Corp., plunged by 24.4 percent.

The shekel-dollar rate dropped and now is quoted at 3.463 shekels to the dollar.