Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., July 08, 2008 Tamuz 5, 5768 | | Israel Time: 03:14 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Peres Conference Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Market Report / Tel Aviv keeps falling, real estate drops by 4.5% By Nathan Sheva Another day of losses hit the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange as real estate shares continued their free fall. The TA-25 lost 1.2% and closed at 1,018 points yesterday, and the TA-100 fell 1.8% to close at 916 points. The TelTech-15 was down another 2.8%, dropping below the 200-point barrier. Turnover was NIS 1.5 billion, just about average for a Sunday with foreign investors off for the weekend. Advertisement Inflation, fears of a recession in the United States and worries about further write-offs, combined with record-high levels for oil prices - these are only part of the story during the past few days. What has Israeli investors really worried are fears that the economic slowdown elsewhere in the world has finally hit Israel. Bad local economic news included a report yesterday in TheMarker that supermarket sales in May slowed down and June tax revenues were the lowest in a year and a half. Real estate shares have taken the hardest hit in recent days. The Real Estate-15 is back to where it was close to the end of 2005, and passed the 400-point barrier on its way down last Thursday. Yesterday it fell another 4.5%. Higher financing costs stemming from higher interest rates, a strong shekel against almost all foreign currencies, and a rise in risk - along with a drop in property values - are the main reasons the big real estate shares have absorbed such a huge blow. Africa Israel, the largest weighted share in the index, is now 66% off its highest price exactly 14 months ago, after losing another 2.8% yesterday. Investors who bought Africa's issue of a week and a half ago have already lost 18% of their investment. Arazim dropped another 12% yesterday, and has lost 80% of its value in the last year. Israel Chemicals and its parent, The Israel Corporation, managed to recover slightly yesterday after 10% losses on Thursday. Chemicals rose 0.7% and The Israel Corp. was up 2% for the day. Various parties of interest continued to buy shares. Yitzhak Tshuva bought NIS 80 million of Delek Group stock over the past few days. However, the purchases did not seem to help the share very much or impress other investors as it dropped another 4.9%. The profit-warning season has started now that the second quarter has ended, with dual-listed Aladin losing 35% of its market value in two days at the end of last week, though yesterday it recovered by 4.7%. The banks were mixed, with Bank Leumi down 1.3% and Bank Hapoalim up 0.3%. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Prisoner exchange Israel signs swap deal, begins exhuming bodies of Hezbollah guerillas. Provocative questions Gaydamak tells TAU student to 'shut up and go to hell' over Angola question.

Read & React Barak outlaws 36 NGOs for Hamas fundraising Responses: 149 Akiva Eldar: Terrorist reflected mood of thousands in J'lem Responses: 76 Yehuda Ben Meir: For a united J'lem, spare the terrorist's home Responses: 41 Israel to exhume bodies of Hezbollah men ahead of swap Responses: 33 More Headlines 01:19 Israel signs swap deal, begins exhuming bodies of Hezbollah guerillas 00:44 ANALYSIS / Ron Arad info crucial in advancing Hezbollah deal 01:22 Assad: Direct talks with Israel only after Bush leaves office 21:51 Olmert lambasts Labor for being unreliable and weak 02:51 Nazi hunters arrive in Chile seeking Mauthausen 'Dr. Death' 23:24 Israel to close Gaza crossings Tuesday in wake of mortar fire 22:26 Italy to expel Palestinian who took part in Achille Lauro cruise hijacking 02:53 Kinneret hits red line, endangering water quality 02:09 Accidents on Ayalon Freeway plummet after billboards removed 02:37 Russian-born U.S. billionaire offers to buy Ma'ariv 22:49 Katsav to Treasury: Give me a luxury car, lavish Tel Aviv office 19:18 Ahmadinejad: Israel and U.S. won't dare attack Iran 18:13 Just 10 of 66,000 Holocaust survivors' heirs get assets back 21:31 Abbas meets with Islamic Jihad leader in Syria, but no sign of Hamas encounter Previous Editions Select Day 07 jul 06 jul 04 jul 03 jul 02 jul 01 jul 30 jun 29 jun 27 jun 26 jun 25 jun 24 jun

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