The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange rose slightly following a New York Times article expressing confidence in the Israeli market and then spiked dramatically upon word of Saddam Hussein’s capture by U.S. Forces.
The Tel Aviv 25 index closed up 3.42% at 94.90 points on Sunday, the Tel Aviv 100 index rose 3.19% to 522.55 points, and the Tel-Tech index gained 4.69% to 362.93 points. Turnover totaled NIS 1,003 million. The indices, which had already posted fine rises of 1.5% before the news of the capture hit, proceeded to shift into high gear.
The Tel Aviv 25 index wound up only 1% below the 500-point barrier, its highest point since January 2001.
The New York Times has published an article focusing on Israeli companies and the Israeli market, with upbeat forecasts for both. The article noted that, "The Tel Aviv-100 index has gained 52 percent this year, and 65 percent when converted into dollars. That compares with gains of 46 percent for the Nasdaq and 28 percent for the MSCI EAFE index, a broad international benchmark that tracks markets in Europe and Asia."
Neil Gregson, global head of emerging markets equities and the interim chief investment officer for the First Israel fund at Credit Suisse, is quoted as saying, "We are cautiously optimistic regarding Israeli equities, given an improving macroeconomic backdrop for the market from both a global and domestic perspective," but with the caveat that, "We do not anticipate a repeat move of close to 60 percent gains next year."
The article observes that many companies traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange or that base their research and development activities in Israel are unaffected by the violence of the Oslo War or by political uncertainty, since they sell to global markets. Companies mentioned in this category include Teva Pharmaceuticals, Amdocs and Check Point.
The Tel Aviv 25 index closed up 3.42% at 94.90 points on Sunday, the Tel Aviv 100 index rose 3.19% to 522.55 points, and the Tel-Tech index gained 4.69% to 362.93 points. Turnover totaled NIS 1,003 million. The indices, which had already posted fine rises of 1.5% before the news of the capture hit, proceeded to shift into high gear.
The Tel Aviv 25 index wound up only 1% below the 500-point barrier, its highest point since January 2001.
The New York Times has published an article focusing on Israeli companies and the Israeli market, with upbeat forecasts for both. The article noted that, "The Tel Aviv-100 index has gained 52 percent this year, and 65 percent when converted into dollars. That compares with gains of 46 percent for the Nasdaq and 28 percent for the MSCI EAFE index, a broad international benchmark that tracks markets in Europe and Asia."
Neil Gregson, global head of emerging markets equities and the interim chief investment officer for the First Israel fund at Credit Suisse, is quoted as saying, "We are cautiously optimistic regarding Israeli equities, given an improving macroeconomic backdrop for the market from both a global and domestic perspective," but with the caveat that, "We do not anticipate a repeat move of close to 60 percent gains next year."
The article observes that many companies traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange or that base their research and development activities in Israel are unaffected by the violence of the Oslo War or by political uncertainty, since they sell to global markets. Companies mentioned in this category include Teva Pharmaceuticals, Amdocs and Check Point.