TEL AVIV, Israel, January 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in the third trading week of 2016 was ended with declines in all the major share indices;  

Bank Leumi is expected today to make a huge bond issue, including for the first time COCO-type bonds of up to US$ 260 million, and an expansion of an existing series of up to US$ 970 million, the largest ever in the history of the TASE; 

BlackRock launched first ETF on the TA-25 Index 

TA-25 index 

The TA-25 index decreased 1.0% over the last week and decreased 5.8% since the beginning of the year, after an increase of 4% for the whole of 2015.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130117/588933 )

TA-100 index 

The TA-100 index decreased 0.8%over the last week and decreased 5.8% since the beginning of the year, after an increase of 2% for the whole of 2015.

TA MidCap-50  

The TA MidCap-50 index decreased this week by 4.9%. Since the beginning of the year, the TA-Biomed index decreased 8.6%, after an increase of 21% in 2015.

Corporate Bonds  

This week there were two bond offerings to the public on the TASE by the business sector: 


        
        - Bank Leumi is expected today to make a huge bond issue, including for the first
          time Contingent Convertible (COCO) type bonds of up to US$ 260 million, and an
          expansion of an existing series of up to US$ 970 million, the largest ever in the
          history of the TASE.
        - Karden Vehicle raised US$ 64 million in a bond offering.

Since the beginning of the year, the business sector raised US$ 1.5 billion in the bond market on the TASE.

In 2015, the business sector raised a record of US$ 14.1 billion on the TASE through bonds to the public, and a further US$ 0.6 billion was raised through bonds to institutional investors.

Government Bonds  

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) made one bond offering this week on the TASE, amounting to US$ 0.3 billion. Since the beginning of the year, the MoF raised US$ 0.8 billion in bond offerings on the TASE.

In 2015, the MoF raised a total of US$ 10 billion in bond offerings on the TASE.

BlackRock launched first ETF on the TA-25 Index 

BlackRock launched this week in London the first Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) for European investors to invest directly in the TA-25 Index.

The iShares TA-25 Israel UCITS ETF (TASE) is the first ETF to offer direct exposure to the shares of the 25 largest companies listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

CPI Index 

Figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics indicate that the Consumer Price Index decreased by 0.1% in December, and decreased 1.0% in 2015.It should be noted that for the first time since the establishment of the State, the CPI decreased in 2015 for the second consecutive year, after decreasing by 0.2% in 2014.

Growth Rate  

The Central Bureau of Statistics released this week its third estimate for the third quarter of 2015 indicating that GDP rose by 2.1% (in annual terms), similar to the previous estimate, after stability in the second quarter and a rise of 2.4% in the first quarter of 2015.

Sector Indices 


        
                           WEEK    2016
        TA Tech-Elite     -1.2%  -11.6%
        TA Banks          -3.4%   -6.6%
        TA Real Estate-15 -3.9%   -4.1%

Foreign Exchange 


        
                    WEEK   2016
        Dollar/NIS  0.7%   1.8%
        Euro/NIS    0.6%   2.0%

Facts & Figures 

The Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange features in December 2015: 


        
        - 461 companies listing equities.
        - 638 Exchange Traded Notes.
        - 32 series of government bonds.
        - 61 Series of Institutional bonds.
        - 599 series of corporate bonds.
        - 1,410 mutual funds.
        - Market Cap. (US$ billions)
             - Equities - 244
             - Government bonds - 129
             - Corporate bonds - 82

About TASE  

Established in September 1935, the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange is Israel's sole securities exchange, offering an increasingly sophisticated range of products to investors, including equity, corporate bonds, treasury bills and notes, index products and derivatives.

International  

In recent years, TASE has enhanced its international presence, signing Memoranda of Understanding with the London Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, NYSE-Euronext the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Toronto Stock Exchange.

For more information please contact: Orna Goren, TASE, +972(076)8160405/6

Visit the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange's Website: http://www.tase.co.il


    Photo: 
    http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130117/588933

SOURCE Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE)