Borsa Istanbul down at close

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index went down 0.19 percent, or 223.80 points, to close at 116,196.54 points on Tuesday, with a total trading volume of 6.9 billion Turkish liras ($1.73 billion).

The banking sector index slightly rose 0.01 percent while the holding sector dropped 0.64 percent.

Among all sectors, the real estate investment trusts sector index was the best performer, rising 1.65 percent, while the textile, leather sector index performed the worst, losing 1.87 percent.

Stocks of the real estate investment trust Sinpas GYO were the top gainers of the day -- up 7.25 percent -- while stocks of major polyester producer Sasa suffered the most, falling 10.73 percent.

The day's most traded stocks were national flag carrier Turkish Airlines, private lender Garanti, Sasa Polyester, real estate investment trust Emlak Konut and energy company Zorlu Enerji.

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rose to 3.9790 as of 5 p.m. local time (1400GMT) on Tuesday, compared to Monday's close at 3.9740.

The euro/lira exchange rate decreased to 4.9370 on Tuesday, from the previous close of 4.9440.

The BIST Gold Exchange index lost 0.37 percent in value, while the price of gold per kilogram remained unchanged at 172,800 Turkish liras (around $43,33) as of 5.30 p.m. local time (1430GMT), compared with Monday's close.

As of 6.10 p.m. local time (1510GMT) Tuesday, the price of Brent oil slipped to $69.44 per barrel, versus $69.52 at the previous close.