Pre-emptive Israeli strike on Hezbollah strengthens Tel Aviv Stock Exchange

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The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange was strengthened after the Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched a pre-emptive strike in Lebanon that mostly blocked an much larger massive rocket and drone attack by forces of the Iranian-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah.

The latest figures indicated that the Israeli economy remains robust despite over 10 months of war in Gaza against the Hamas terrorist organization and the ongoing conflict with Hezbollah.

The Tel Aviv 35 index was up 0.77%, and the Tel Aviv 125 index increased by 0.76%.

Yonatan Katz, the head economist of Leader Capital Markets, assessed that the financial market is optimistic about the prospects of a potential ceasefire that would strengthen the economy even further.

“The markets are looking ahead and are optimistic that no escalation is expected up north after this round, and they are especially optimistic about the chances for a ceasefire with the development of negotiations,” Katz said during an interview with Israeli's Channel 12.

Ilit Peleg, who manages premium customers at the Kali Group, specifically credited the IAF's operational success in preventing Hezbollah from launching what would likely have been the largest attack on Israel since the foiled attack by the Iranian regime in April.

“The stock markets opened the business week in Israel with nice increases in the leading indices. It seems the reason is the reaction to the Israeli Air Force’s success against Hezbollah’s intention to attack the center [of the country],” Peleg argued.

The latest positive signs from the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange come as the State of Israel faces an economic slowdown as a result of the prolonged war with Iranian terrorist proxies on several fronts.

Ronen Menachem, chief markets economist at the Israeli Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot, noted that Israel’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrank during the second quarter of 2024.

“Gross domestic product per capita shrank both compared to the previous quarter and compared to the corresponding quarter last year, a figure that clearly indicates the significant damage that the ongoing war is causing to the economy,” Menachem said.

Looking ahead, she said the upcoming week was “expected to be dynamic because of the security uncertainty following Hezbollah’s announcement that this was just the first stage of its attack against Israel and because of the estimates that Iran may also attack.”

Approximately 100 Israeli fighter jets neutralized thousands of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Nevertheless, the Iranian-supported terror group fired between 200 and 300 aerial projectiles into Israel. The vast majority of them were either intercepted by Israel’s aerial defense or landed in open areas. One Israeli Navy soldier was killed and two others were injured.

Like Iran, Hezbollah has vowed a “revenge” attack against Israel for the elimination of Hezbollah's top military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July. Israel has taken responsibility for the death of Shukr but has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in Haniye's assassination.

The Fitch Ratings recently downgraded Israel’s credit rating from “A+” to “A” due to the ongoing war in Gaza.

“In our view, the conflict in Gaza could last well into 2025, and there are risks of it broadening to other fronts,” Fitch warned.