Borsa Istanbul down on profit taking

ANKARA (AA) – Borsa Istanbul slipped slightly Wednesday on profit taking after advancing three consecutive days.

The BIST 100 index slipped 0.45 percent or 351.61 points to close at 77,643.18 points on the back of profit-taking action, especially in banking shares.

This followed advances over three consecutive days amid consistently weaker-than-expected U.S. data which eased imminent rate-hike anxiety.

On Wednesday, markets were expected to closely follow the Beige Book report from the U.S., which will be revealed later with comments from various Federal Reserve members.

A European Central Bank meeting due Thursday is forecast to have a significant impact on markets.

Analysts do not foresee new measures from the meeting other than a possible extension of a monetary easing program.

The Turkish lira, which was at 2.9230 to the U.S. dollar at 9.00 a.m. local time (0600GMT), rose 0.27 percent to 2.9310 later.