The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange  continues its strategic efforts to increase the volume of on-exchange trading and divert current OTC activity to the exchange by enabling the execution of block trades at the closing price.

On-exchange trading offers significant advantages: transactions are fully transparent and documented, operational errors are minimized, compliance risk is reduced, counterparty risk is neutralized via the central clearing mechanism, and overall market liquidity for both shares and bonds is enhanced. Due to these, and other benefits, regulators globally actively encourage on-exchange trading over OTC transactions.

To facilitate the on-exchange execution of large and significant transactions, TASE developed the block trade mechanism - a tool that allows for high-volume transactions in line with international standards.

Last August, TASE launched the TAL (Trading at Last) trading phase, which allows transactions to be executed at the security's closing price, after the closing auction phase. This new trading phase immediately attracted a strong positive response from all capital market participants, with numerous transactions executed daily across both the equity and bond markets. There has also been notable participation by foreign and institutional investors, which prior to the TAL launch had limited activity in the closing auction phase.

TASE records significant activity during the TAL phase on index update days. For example, during the bond index update on October 20, 2025, trading in the TAL totaled NIS 122 million. TASE anticipates a new record for equity trading activity in the TAL phase during the upcoming equity indices' update on November 6, given that this order type was not available during the previous index update. 

Recognizing the added value provided to investors by the TAL phase, TASE has decided to expand the trading options within TAL to include block trades. This strategic move is expected to significantly increase the incentive for large-scale investors to execute transactions on-exchange. The order type facilitating the execution of a block trade at the closing price addresses the needs of investors seeking to trade large volumes securely at the closing price, and/or at a price that deviates from the closing price within defined volatility limits. This flexibility is similar to that available for OTC transactions, thereby removing the incentive to trade outside the transparent order book.

While OTC transactions allow for discounts without impacting the share price, large transactions executed on-exchange may directly influence the price. By enabling block trades at the closing price, TASE makes it possible for investors to offer discounts without exposing the traded security to price fluctuations during the trading day.