High oil and gas prices, still-high inflation, and the Fed’s occasional hawkish comments along with the resultant rise in bond yields kept the market under pressure. The United States witnessed a substantial economic growth in the third quarter of 2023, with the real gross domestic product (GDP) growing at an annual rate of 4.9%, beating the economists’ expectations of 4.7%. The shekel weakened to the lowest since 2016 against the dollar even after the Bank of Israel unveiled an unprecedented $45 billion program to defend the currency.