Israel stocks rise, assault has no effect

Bloomberg

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The benchmark TA-25 index has climbed 7.4 percent since Dec. 27 when Israel started its campaign in the Gaza Strip, tracking a rise in global equities. The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index gained 6.8 percent in the same period. Israel’s index added another 1 percent Sunday even as the government broadened its offensive by sending ground forces into Gaza, and protests in the Muslim world against the invasion spread.

"We won’t see any impact on regional markets because it’s clear the crisis is going to be contained," Rami Sidani, head of Middle East and North Africa investments at Schroders Investment Management in Dubai, said in a telephone interview. "If the issue were to take on other proportions, things may change."

Stocks are advancing after the TA-25 tumbled 46 percent last year as the economy grew at its slowest pace since 2003. Investors now are more focused on the performance of global stocks than on Israel’s military push, said Daniel Goldstein, the head of international sales at Prisma Capital Markets in Ramat Gan.

Goldstein, whose firm manages 30 billion shekels ($7.9 billion), said while some employees at the investment house have been called for reserve duty, "business carries on as normal."

The shekel has climbed since the fighting began, gaining 1.3 percent against the dollar. Israeli government bonds have tumbled, with yields rising Sunday by the most in more than a year, as the decline in U.S. Treasuries, a government offering yesterday and concerns that the widening offensive may impact the budget lowered demand for the notes. The yield on the 10-year Mimshal Shiklit note rose 25 basis points, the most since Dec. 16, 2007, to 4.99 percent.

"By all appearances the operations seems to be going well for Israel," said Ira Slomowitz, a trader.