Israel election limbo drags down shekel, stocks
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s benchmark TA-125 index fell roughly 2.5% on Wednesday, plunging in early trading before recovering some losses later in the day.
Israel’s markets slid a day after Tuesday’s inconclusive election left the country facing a potentially prolonged and uncertain coalition-building process, leaving the economic picture in limbo.
What happened: The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s benchmark TA-125 index fell roughly 2.5% on Wednesday, plunging in early trading before recovering some losses later in the day. The blue-chip TA-35 fell about 1.8%.
The decline extended a rocky stretch for Israeli equities: The TA-125 is down 1.78% over the past month and nearly 6% over six months, although it remains up roughly 7.5% for the year and more than 20% over the past 12 months.
The selloff was uneven. Bank Leumi, one of the market’s heavyweight stocks, lost roughly 4.6%, helping drag the broader index lower. Defense contractor Elbit Systems initially plunged but reversed course as buyers moved in, closing up 1.7%. Tower Semiconductor bucked the trend altogether, jumping about 6%.
