Tel Aviv stocks dropped 2% Sunday as shekel kept shrinking

Trade Bank embezzlement depressed entire banking sector, cabinet debate of emergency economic plan worried investors

Author:: TheMarker.com Staff
Publish date:: Apr 28, 2002 11:03 AM EDT

Tel Aviv stocks closed down 2.2% Sunday, weighed down by dollar options soaring against the shekel to yet another record high NIS 4.943. The massive embezzlement of NIS 250 million at Trade Bank affected the banking sector, and Friday's sharp drops on Wall Street, when the Nasdaq dropped 2.9% and the Dow Jones closed off 1.2%, did nothing to boost local shares.

The mood was also impacted by the terrorist attack Saturday on the Hebron-area settlement Adora that cost the lives of four people including a five-year-old girl. Another damper was the debate on the emergency economic plan at the cabinet.

The session opened on 1.8% drops which worsened to as much as 3% during the day. The Maof-25 blue chip index and the TA-100 index each closed down, 2.2%, and technology shares shed 3%. Total turnover was a low NIS 198 million.

Bank Hapoalim closed down 2.7%, Bank Leumi falling 2.5%.

Agrochemicals firm Makhteshim Agan slipped 0.3%. The company announced Friday that it has acquired the German herbicide company Feinchemie for $21 million. The cost of the deal could climb by another $4.5 million depending on the sales volume of the German company in 2002 to 2003. Feinchemie sales in 2001 came to $40 million.

Knafaim-Arkia Holdings leaped 9.7% after announcing it has leased a Boeing plane to a Canadian carrier for a four-year period, in return for NIS 21 million. Knafaim-Arkia Holdings owns Arkia airlines. Drug giant Teva Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:TEVA) closed off 1.1% on the session's biggest turnover, NIS 23.4 million.

IDB group stocks posted sharp drops. Discount Investments dropped 4.3% on NIS 8.7 million, IDB Holding Corporation dropped 2.2%, IDB Development Corporation closed off 3.1%, Clal Industries closed down 3.2%.

Cellular provider Partner Communications (Nasdaq, TASE:PTNR, LSE:PCCD) closed off 2.4%, technology holding firm Elron Electronic Industries (Nasdaq:ELRN) closed down 4.9%, multimedia digital recording provider Nice Systems (Nasdaq:NICE) fell 5.9% while broadband wireless access company Alvarion (Nasdaq:ALVR) climbed 1.4%.

Israel Chemicals closed with 0.2% gains on NIS 7.4 million volume.

State-owned phone company Bezeq closed down 2.5%.

Clal Insurance closed down 5.4%, Migdal Insurance closed off 3.6%.