Israeli Stocks Climb After Olmert Says He Will Remain Premier

Israel's TA-25 Index rose, reversing earlier losses, after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that he will stay in office despite health issues.

``The market is back up where it started,'' said Avi Weinreb, a trader at Clal Finance Batucha Investment Management Ltd. in Tel Aviv. ``It seems that Olmert will continue to be fine and I don't see this affecting the market.''

Israel Chemicals Ltd. and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. paced the advance.

The TA-25 Index added 5.07, or 0.4 percent, to 1,233.39 at 12:27 p.m. in Tel Aviv , after dropping as much as 0.4 percent. Seventeen shares climbed and nine declined.

Olmert, 62, called an unexpected news conference in Jerusalem today to tell reporters that he has prostate cancer. The condition doesn't represent an immediate health threat, one of Olmert's doctors, Shlomo Segev of the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, said at the conference.

Israel Chemicals, which extracts minerals from the Dead Sea to make fertilizers, increased 0.73 shekel, or 1.7 percent, to 43.33. Teva, the world's largest maker of generic drugs, advanced 1.90 shekels, or 1.1 percent, to 179.80.

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