The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on Sunday reacted sharply to steep declines in the New York markets last week. All the leading indices ended the session in the red.

The TA-25 index closed down 4.21 percent to 1,089 points; the TA-100 index lost 4.35 percent, closing at 1,067 points, and the Tel-Tech fell by 4.6 percent.

Turnover stood at about NIS 3.25 billion. The bond market also retreated sharply, and long-term fixed income bonds plunged by 1.6 percent.

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Real estate stocks were among the hardest hit, falling by 4.4 percent after losing 6 percent last week; Elbit Medical Imaging sank 6 percent and Alrov lost 8 percent.

"I prefer to sell stocks and stay outside until this wave passes," a senior trader in the local market said Sunday.

Stock indices dropped sharply last Thursday as well, by about 2.5 percent.

What began as concern over a crisis in the American subprime mortgages market, turned into fear of global financial crisis, and subsequently triggered losses in stock markets around the world.

Stock markets in the United States were down more than four percent last week, the worst week they suffered in four years. The crisis stemmed from fears of a credit crisis and from an expectation of mass debt forgiveness on the mortgage market.

The crisis is likely to affect other aspects of the market and to depress the American economy, which was already projected to slow down.

Losses also accompanied markets in Europe. London fell by four percent last week. Emerging markets also registered losses, with the market in India falling on Friday by 3.4 percent, and in Istanbul by 1.8 percent.

A barrel of oil rose to $77 on Friday, approaching the all-time high of August 2005. The dollar also continues to rise, as does the fear that foreign investors are responsible for some of the losses in the Israeli stock exchange.

The dollar reached a representative rate of NIS 4.32, up by ten percent since its nadir in May. The continuing strengthening of the U.S. dollar is expected to encourage the Bank of Israel to continue raising interest rates.