The Jewish trading year opened a couple of weeks ago with a mini-financial storm.
The dollar strengthened against the shekel by more than 1.3% and traded at its highest level since the beginning of 2022 (NIS 3.53).The strengthening of the dollar is explained by the increase in interest rates in the US and expectations for further increases. The American stock exchange fears that inflation will spur Fed Chair Jerome Powell to speed up interest rate policy at a hawkish rate and raise the interest rate more sharply and on a longer schedule.
As mentioned, stock markets in the US and worldwide reacted with sharp declines. On September 28, the first trading day after Rosh Hashanah, the Tel Aviv exchange opened with declines of more than 2.5% in leading indices.
Today's trading trends will determine how the financial statements of the listed companies will look. It will especially affect the reports of the banks which manage their financial reserves in the capital market and at the expense of the insurance companies which manage investment funds of policies that receive profits.