Expecting US interest rate hike, Turkish stocks open up

ANKARA (AA) – Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index advanced 0.51 percent to open at 79,242.08 points Monday after declining 0.50 percent Friday, as investors are increasingly factoring in an imminent U.S. interest rate hike, based on the economic outlook in the world's largest economy.

On Friday the country's benchmark index lost 398.41 points while the banking sector and holding sector indices rose by 0.61 percent and 0.42 percent respectively.

On the first day of the week, among the sector indexes, the sports sector had the biggest advance, with a 2.96 percent rise. The leasing and factoring sector index fell with a 0.73 percent decline.

The Turkish lira gained against the U.S. dollar, moving from 3.0835 at market close Friday to 3.0750 early Monday.

There will be no major local data announcements Monday, but Turkish markets will be following remarks by various members of the U.S. Federal Reserve Federal Open Market Committee.