Market situation: the shekel weakens ahead of elections, and the investment bank cut its forecast for the KOSPI by a quarter

The shekel weakened by about 0.5% against the dollar to a level of 3.116 shekels amid the upcoming elections. Trading in Asia is mixed, futures on Wall Street are slightly up. Oil prices are falling by about 2% after gains last week. Goldman Sachs cut its forecast for the KOSPI index by a quarter to 9,000 points.

Globes reports this morning (Monday) on the market situation: the shekel weakened by about 0.5% against the dollar to a level of 3.116 shekels, amid the upcoming elections. Yossi Menashe from Altshuler Shaham noted that the shekel enters election week with high sensitivity to political developments. Economists at Leader Capital Markets added that interest rate gaps vis-à-vis abroad are expected to widen. Trading in Asia is mixed: Tokyo and Shanghai are down about 0.2%, Seoul retreated about 0.7%, and Hong Kong is up about 0.4%. Futures on Wall Street are recording slight gains of about 0.2%. Oil prices are falling by about 2% (Brent around $114, WTI around $101), after sharp gains last week amid tensions between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. US government bond yields continue to decline. Bitcoin falls below $80,000. Goldman Sachs cut its forecast for the South Korean KOSPI index by a quarter to 9,000 points, but it still reflects an upside of over 60%.

Market situation: the shekel weakens ahead of elections, and the investment bank cut its forecast for the KOSPI by a quarter