Borsa Istanbul down over 1 percent at close

By Gokhan Ergocun

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index dropped by 1.40 percent to 95,306.98 points with a trading volume of around 5.9 billion Turkish liras ($1.3 billion) in the closing session on Tuesday.

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index ended the day with a 1,354.38-point decrease from the previous close of 96.661,36 points, while it opened the day at 96,473.53 points, down 0.19 percent.

The USD/TRY exchange rate rose to 4.5510 as of 5 p.m. local time (1400GMT) Tuesday, compared with 4.5090 at Monday's close. It had hit an all-time high with 4.93 last month.

The euro/lira exchange rate also increased to 5.3680 by market close, versus 5.3230 at the previous close, and one British pound was traded for 6.1010 Turkish liras, compared with 6.0540 at Monday's close.

The BIST Gold Exchange index gained in value by 0.02 percent at the close. In Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets, one ounce of gold was traded for $1,297.20 as of 4.30 p.m. local time (1330GMT) Tuesday, compared with $1,297.00 at previous close.

The price of Brent oil rose slightly to $76.55 per barrel as of 6 p.m. (1500GMT) Tuesday, from $76.25 at the previous close.