Tel Aviv stocks losing 3.4% Sunday mid-day as Trade Bank scandal takes toll

Tel Aviv stocks are sharply down 3.4% Sunday mid-day after sharp drops on Wall Street Friday, when the Nasdaq dropped 2.9% and the Dow Jones closed off 1.2%.

The session had opened on 1.8% drops.

The mood is 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 mood damper is the NIS 250 million embezzlement at Trade Bank revealed on Friday.

The Maof-25 blue chip index is falling 3.4% to 370.8 points, the TA-100 index is dropping 3% to 359.7 points, and technology shares are down 4.3%. Total turnover is a low NIS 73 million.

The massive embezzlement of NIS 250 million in Trade Bank is affecting trade in bank stocks. Bank Hapoalim is down 3.6%, Bank Leumi is falling 3.9%.

Agrochemicals firm Makhteshim Agan is down 1.9% despite announcing 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.

Drug giant Teva Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:TEVA) is off 1.3% on the session's biggest turnover, NIS 11.5 million.

IDB group stocks are posting sharp drops, with Discount Investments dropping 4.6% on NIS 4.1 million, IDB Holding Corporation and IDB Development Corporation falling 3.7%, and Clal Industries trading with 4.4% drops.

Cellular provider Partner Communications (Nasdaq, TASE:PTNR, LSE:PCCD) is off 2%, technology holding firm Elron Electronic Industries (Nasdaq:ELRN) is down 5.8%, multimedia digital recording provider Nice Systems (Nasdaq:NICE) is plunging 7.3%, while broadband wireless access company Alvarion (Nasdaq:ALVR) is rising 1%.

State-owned phone company Bezeq is down 3.4%.

Clal Insurance is down 5.5%, Migdal Insurance is off 4.4%.