Key Israeli stock indices fell around seven percent and trading on the Tel Aviv stock exchange was temporarily halted on Sunday after news of a US credit rating downgrade, the bourse said. According to its website, the benchmark TA-25 index closed down 6.99 percent at 1,074.274, while the TA-100 slid 7.20 percent to 972.80.
Trading opened as normal on Sunday, the first day of Israel's working week, but mandatory suspensions went into effect minutes into the session as the stock exchange plunged.
Both the TA-25 and the TA-100 dropped more than five percent in pre-trading, prompting the exchange to put into effect a practice known as an "English opening," with trading delayed for short periods. After the first two short suspensions, the indices had failed to stabilise sufficiently, prompting the exchange to authorise a 45-minute suspension, Yaaron said.