Israel’s benchmark stock index, the TA-125, jumped nearly 6% on Monday to a record high of around 16,160, following joint US–Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend and subsequent retaliatory attacks by Tehran on targets in the region. Despite the escalation and heightened geopolitical uncertainty, investors appeared to view the developments as potentially paving the way for a substantial weakening of the Iranian threat to Israel, lifting domestic equities.
Defense stocks led the advance, with Elbit Systems gaining 3.4%. Energy shares also moved higher on the back of elevated oil prices, including NewMed Energy, which rose 6.4%. The TA-125 has now gained roughly 48% since June of last year, when Israel began its series of attacks on Iran.
