Market Report / Shares end the week on an upbeat note

Shares rose moderately yesterday on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The TA-25 gained 0.6% to close at 1,022 points, while the TA-100 rose 0.7% to end the day at 955 points. The Real Estate-15 lost 1.4% and the Banks-5 index was unchanged.

Since the beginning of 2009 the TA-25 has risen 56%, but is still 17% below its record high of November 2007. The TA-100 has performed even better this year, up 69%, but is still 20% below its all-time high.

For the trading week, the blue chip TA-25 was unchanged and the broader TA-100 lost 0.2%.

The stocks that stood out this week were those that were somehow related to or affected by the huge NIS 7 billion Bezeq purchase: Internet Gold rose 68.9% for the week and 012 Smile was up 41%. Other shares that showed large moves this week - for good and for bad - were Mivtach Shamir, up 20.5%, Ness Technologies, down 30%, and Koor which lost 10.4%. Alvarion was off almost 10%.

Around the globe, Asian markets were mostly down yesterday, but later in the day European shares turned positive in the afternoon after newly released figures showed new claims for U.S. jobless aid fell to a 10-month low last week and business productivity in the third quarter grew at the fastest pace in six years. The market also got some support after the Bank of England and the European Central Bank kept interest rates on hold, and BoE said it would expand its quantitative easing program by 25 billion pounds (some $41 billion). The two central banks' decisions came a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates near zero for an extended period.

The euro rose against the dollar yesterday on the interest rate announcements, while the shekel barely changed against the dollar, up 0.03% to a representative rate of NIS 3.792, while the shekel fell 0.63% against the euro yesterday to NIS 5.630.

Back at home, another positive factor that affected stocks yesterday was the Bank of Israel's publication on Wednesday of its inflation report for the July through period. The central bank reiterated its forecast of no GDP growth this year, and 2.5% for 2010. Unemployment is expected to rise to 8.1% from the present 7.6%, wrote the bank.

Africa Israel fell 3.5% on continued large turnover.

Israel Discount Bank was down 0.8% as the question of whether chairman Shlomo Zohar will be ousted was the real issue, as well as reports that the Bronfman family was interested in selling its controlling share in the bank.

The Israel Corporation rose 2.2% after company shareholders approved an amended version of the bailout plan for its Zim shipping subsidiary on Wednesday.

Ormat Industries jumped 4% after releasing its third quarter results yesterday. (See story on Page A8.)

Bezeq gained 3.3%.

This article includes reporting by Reuters.