Borsa Istanbul up at close

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index went up 0.85 percent to close at 116,431.78 points on Tuesday, with a total trading volume of 6.9 billion Turkish liras ($1.76 billion).

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index rose 981.52 points, while the banking and holding sector indices climbed 1.52 percent and 1.37 percent, respectively.

Among all sectors, the transportation sector index was the best performer, rising 4.75 percent, while the wholesale and retail trade sector index did the worst, losing 1.37 percent.

Stocks of private lender ICBC Turkey Bank were the top gainers of the day, up 7.13 percent, while stocks of bedding and furniture company Yatas suffered the most, falling 2.62 percent.

The day's most-traded stocks were national flag carrier Turkish Airlines, private lender Garanti, iron and steel producer Kardemir, gold miner Koza Altin, and mining company Koza Madencilik.

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange dropped to 3.9300 as of 5 p.m. local time (1400GMT) on Tuesday, compared to Monday's close at 3.9450.

The euro/lira exchange rate also declined to 4.8210 on Tuesday, from the previous close of 4.8610.

The BIST Gold Exchange index gained 0.30 percent in value, while the price of gold per kilogram reached 165,800 Turkish liras (around $42,196) as of 5.30 p.m. local time (1430GMT), down from 166,200 Turkish liras (around $42,116) at Monday's close.

As of 5.52 p.m. local time (1452GMT) Tuesday, the price of Brent oil rose to $67.44 per barrel, versus $66.05 at the previous close.