By Muhammed Ali Gurtas
ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s benchmark index closed the day with a 335.96-point decline to stand at 90,904.49 points on Tuesday, after seeing 91,240.45 points on Monday -- the highest close since Jan. 26, 2015.
Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index was down by 0.37 percent with a total trading volume of 5.2 billion Turkish liras (approximately $1.4 billion).
On Tuesday, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci told Anadolu Agency’s Editors' Desk in Ankara the positive effect of upcoming referendum over the markets was observed Monday.
"A solid foreign demand for Borsa Istanbul or Turkish stocks, treasury securities and Turkish debt instruments started last week. We had an expectation for gaining value of Turkish liras against other currencies as of Monday. Positive expectations were seen in Borsa Istanbul from yesterday," Zeybekci said.
The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate fell to 3.7140 liras as of 5 p.m. (1400GMT) Tuesday, compared with 3.7260 liras at Monday's close.
One dollar was exchanged for 3.7310 liras last Friday, April 7, after seeing a historic hike -- around 3.94 liras -- in mid-January.
Borsa Istanbul's Gold Exchange index advanced by 0.88 percent while the price of gold per kilogram also climbed to 150,220 Turkish liras (some $40,486) as of 4.30 p.m. (1330GMT), up from 150,000 Turkish liras (around $40,195) at Monday's close.
Analysts said the hike in the gold price per ounce, which increased to $1,260 on Tuesday from $1,249 at Monday's close, was linked to rising geopolitical risks in Syria.
On the second day of the week, the banking and holding indices were down by 0.79 and 0.25 percent, respectively.
Among all sectors, the mining index was the best performer with an increase of 2.88 percent while the real estate investment trusts index saw the biggest drop, falling 2.02 percent.
Stocks of Turkish conglomerate Ihlas Holding (IHLAS) were the top gainer on Tuesday -- up 4.65 percent -- while shares of poultry and feed producer Banvit (BANVT) saw the biggest drop for the second day in a row, declining by 7.42 percent.
The five most-traded stocks were lenders Halkbank and Garanti, national flag-carrier Turkish Airlines, followed by other lenders Akbank and Yapi Kredi.
On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said: "Turkish government will keep backing state lender Halkbank over allegations of being used as an intermediary in violation of UN Security Council’s sanctions on Iran."
On March 28, Halkbank's Deputy Chief Executive Officer Mehmet Hakan Atilla was arrested in New York on charges of conspiring to evade trade sanctions on Iran.
"Ministry of Justice has reviewed the files. All reviews of our bank and independent auditors as well as investigations by the Justice Ministry clearly show none of the transactions by Halkbank breaches any global norm,” Simsek said.
“We will wait and see the outcome. But the bank is an important asset of our country. We will stand behind our bank,” he added.