- Israeli stocks, as defined by the BlueStar® Israel Global Index (BIGI®), rose 9.15% in Q3 2024, outperforming both US and international markets.
- Israeli technology stocks, as defined by the BlueStar® Israel Global Technology Index (BIGITech®), rose 4.39% in Q3.
- The Monetary Committee decided to leave rates unchanged at 4.5% during the October meeting, citing an increase in the inflation environment in view of supply limitations in the economy; the Consumer Price Index rose by 0.9% in August, bringing inflation over the past 12 months to 3.6%, exceeding the upper limit of the target range.
- Persistent geopolitical uncertainty has led to a downgrade in Israel's credit rating and a rise in its risk premium. While heightened tensions in the Middle East have had a limited impact on global financial markets thus far, oil and natural gas prices have seen an uptick.
- Despite rising tensions with Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and directly with Iran, volatility in Israel’s foreign exchange market has waned as the shekel has been stable around 3.7 USD/ILS.
- The BOI Research Department has updated its macroeconomic forecast, now assuming that the ongoing war, which has intensified along the northern front, will persist at high intensity into early 2025. The Research Department forecasts GDP to grow by 0.5 percent in 2024 and 3.8 percent in 2025. These growth rates are 1% and 0.4% points lower than the previous forecast, respectively.
Get the latest news & insights from MarketVector
Get the newsletterRelated: