Borsa Istanbul up at opening

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - The BIST 100 index advanced 133.93 points to open at 88,383.01 on Thursday in its first transactions.

On the fourth opening session of the week, the country's benchmark index started with a 0.15 percent increase.

The banking and holding sector indices rose by 0.18 and 0.24 percent, respectively.

The mining sector index rose the most, by 1.07 percent, while the trade sector was the worst performer, falling 0.06 percent in initial transactions.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate fell to stand at 3.7190 at 9.30 a.m. (0630GMT) Thursday, compared to 3.7380 at Wednesday's close.

Gold held at $1,239.7 an ounce.

U.S. crude futures soared by 0.78 percent to $52.75 a barrel, while benchmark Brent crude futures rose by 0.73 percent to $55.52.