Declines of up to 3% on European stock exchanges due to fears of further restrictions slowing down the economy • The real estate index has fallen by about 10% since the beginning of the year • The technology index has fallen more moderately, by 1.09%
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
Photography:
Gideon Markovich
The new corona mutation discovered in the UK has toppled markets in the country and around the world.
Trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange closed yesterday with sharp declines in the leading Tel Aviv indices, by up to 2.4%. The banks index fell by 2.8% and oil and gas more than 4%. The price of oil also fell, for fear of tightening restrictions. More than 9%, and Fattal's share about 8%.
The leading European stock exchanges saw declines of up to 3%, and red screens were also observed on Wall Street in the first trading hours with declines of up to 2%.
The Americans, however, draw encouragement from a new $ 900 billion aid program, after a long stalemate in talks between Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
According to various medical experts from Israel and around the world, Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines are expected to be resistant to what is defined as a "mutation", but the government has not taken risks and defined all countries around the world as red - meaning anyone returning from abroad will be required to go into isolation. , The malls and retail spaces may also close, shortly after they open.
Bad news in the real estate industry as well: The real estate index, which has fallen by about 10% since the beginning of the year, lost more than another 3% yesterday.
Apart from the reports of the mutation, the industry suffered another blow, with data from the Central Bureau of Statistics showing a seven-year low in the number of construction starts in the country.
According to the data, since the beginning of the year, less than 36,000 new apartments have begun to be built - a rate that reflects a decrease of 9% compared to 2019 - before the Corona appeared.
As mentioned, this is the lowest volume of construction starts since 2013. The technology index recorded a more moderate decline, of 1.09%.
IVC and Meitar's high-tech report is published today, which shows that 2020 was a record year in recruitment, but a low in exits. 578 transactions were recorded with a total investment of about $ 9.9 billion. This is a growth of 14% in the number of transactions from last year and 27% In the capital invested.
This year also saw a record capital raising for Israeli technology companies traded on the stock exchange: 121 companies raised $ 6.55 billion in 2020, compared to 68 companies that raised $ 1.95 billion in 2019. As mentioned, 2020 ends with a sharp decline in mergers and acquisitions: only $ 7.8 billion (in 93 transactions) compared to $ 14.24 billion (in 143 transactions) in 2019 (excluding transactions of more than $ 5 billion).
According to the authors of the report, Shira Ezran, Mike Rimon and Itai Frishman - Partners in Meitar 0 "The number of recruitments of companies in growth stages has increased significantly, as has the total amount of recruitments, which indicates the continued maturation and maturity of the Israeli high-tech world. This is reflected, among other things, in the increase in the number of companies that have crossed the value of the billion dollars (Unicorn; HC) ".
Guy Holtzman, CEO of IVC, stated: "We estimate that after a challenging but successful year for Israeli start-ups, Israeli high-tech will continue to be a source of attraction for international, financial and strategic players."