During his visit today (30/12/2024) to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich announced that he intends to approve the transition of TASE trading to new trading days—Monday through Friday, rather than Sunday through Thursday. This move aims to align the Israeli capital market with international standards.
The Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, and the Director General of the Ministry, Shlomi Heisler, visited the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange today together with the Chairman of the Israel Securities Authority, Adv. Seffy Zinger. Ittai Ben Zeev, TASE CEO hosted the minister.
The move to change the trading days is one key component in a series of measures promoted in recent years—and to be advanced in the coming years—by the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Israel, the Israel Securities Authority, and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. These measures aim to align Israeli financial regulation and capital market practices with the standards accepted in developed economies and leading capital market throughout the world. The initiative to change the trading days has garnered widespread support from both local and international market players. As part of the process, an extensive public discussion was held, during which extensive feedback was received, highlighting the significant advantages inherent in this transition, such as:
- Greater accessibility to foreign investors – adapting trading days to international standards will facilitate foreign investors, enabling them to act more seamlessly in the local market;
- Increased liquidity and tradability– the increase in trading activity will contribute to more precise pricing of TASE-traded securities and will enhance market efficiency.
- Inclusion in international market indices – the move increases the chance that Israel securities will be integrated into leading world market indices in the future.
Trading on Fridays will close at 14:00, mindful of the necessity to keep the Sabbath and of the needs of all market participants. Given that various market players need to prepare and in order to provide solutions for various interfaces, the transition will enter into effect in the beginning of 2026.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich: "The change in trading days to those accepted in leading capital markets is a key component in our vision of tightening the Israeli capital market's and economy's ties to the rest of the world. This move will enable global investors to more easily access the Israeli capital market, to invest in our attractive local market without encountering cumbersome barriers. This, in the long run, will strengthen the Israeli economy."
Chairman of the Israel Securities Authority, Seffy Zinger: "The move to change the trading days is but one key component of a series of ISA initiatives taken over the years, which reflect our commitment to aligning local regulation and practices in Israel's capital market to accepted standards worldwide. The capital market is a global market, and therefore, in order to encourage activity in the local capital market, we must aspire, insofar as is possible, to also incorporate the solutions adopted in leading capital markets."
CEO, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Ittai Ben Zeev: "Throughout the most challenging and prolonged war the State of Israel has known, the Israeli stock exchange has demonstrated remarkable resilience, power and growth. The transition to a Monday-through-Friday trading week is an opportunity to lever the advantages of the stock exchange to better position ourselves on the global financial stage. Aligning the exchange's operations with international standards will open the door to more extensive international investments, enhance the attractiveness of Israeli companies, and accelerate the growth of the local capital market. I would like to thank the Ministry of Finance and the Israel Securities Authority for their trust and recognition of TASE as a key economic engine, capable of propelling the Israeli economy forward, as we prepare to launch this initiative at the beginning of 2026."
