Borsa Istanbul relatively flat at opening

ANKARA (AA) – The BIST 100 index decreased 138.13 points to open at 81,662.45 on Monday in its first transactions.

On the first opening session of the week, the country's benchmark index started with a 0.17 percent decrease.

The banking and holding sector indexes increased by 0.09 and 0.23 percent, respectively. The tourism sector index rose the most, by 0.83 percent. The communication index saw the biggest drop, 0.13 percent, in initial transactions.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate fell to stand at 3.7630 at 9.30 a.m. (0630GMT) Monday, compared to 3.7860 at Friday's close.

Gold held at $1,205.8 an ounce.

U.S. crude futures rose by 0.19 percent to $52.47 a barrel, while benchmark Brent crude futures increased by 0.16 percent to $55.54.