Borsa Istanbul up over 1.8 pct at close

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index went up 1.81 percent to close at 117,235.47 points on Monday, with a total trading volume of 6.3 billion Turkish liras ($1.66 billion).

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index gained 2,088.41 points, while the banking and holding sectors indices increased 2.12 percent and 2.61 percent, respectively.

Among all sectors, the tourism sector index was the top performer for a second day in a row -- up 5.26 percent. Construction and sports sectors suffered, down by 0.36 percent and 0.16 percent, respectively.

The shares of Ihlas Gayrimenkul (IHLGM), which operates in the fields of construction, contracting and engineering, real estate development and energy, were the top gainers of the day, up 6.97 percent, while stocks of Turkey's top oil refinery Tupras (TUPRS) suffered the biggest drop -- down 1.10 percent.

The top five most-traded stocks were the national flag-carrier Turkish Airlines, automotive manufacturer Karsan Otomotiv, investment trust Global Yatirim Holding, iron and steel producer Kardemir and private lender Garanti.

On Friday, the BIST 100 dropped 1.46 percent or 1,708.96 points to close at 115,147.06 points. The trade volume was 7 billion Turkish liras ($1.84 billion).

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange dropped to 3.7970 as of 5 p.m. local time (1400GMT) on Monday, compared to Friday's close at 3.8020.

The euro/lira exchange rate also slightly rose to 4.6530 on Monday, from 4.6520 at last week's close.

The BIST Gold Exchange index slightly dropped 0.01 percent, while the price of gold per kilogram stood at 163,250 Turkish liras (around $43,002) as of 5.30 p.m. local time (1430GMT).

As of 5.30 p.m. local time (1430GMT) Monday, the price of Brent oil was $68.61 per barrel, same as the previous close.