By Gokhan Ergocun
ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s benchmark index fell by 0.42 percent to stand at 100,190.32 points at the close on Thursday.
Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 index closed the day by going down 427.38 points with a total trading volume of 4.2 billion Turkish liras (approximately $1.19 billion).
The banking and holding sectors went down 0.51 percent and 0.19 percent, respectively. Among all sectors, the basic metal index was the best performer -- up 1.85 percent -- while the transportation sector saw the biggest decline, falling 2.02 percent.
Shares of Eczacibasi Ilac (ECILC), active in the pharmaceutical industry, were the top gainer with an increase of 5.25 percent in value while stocks of pipe and tube producer Erbosan (ERBOS) were the worst performers, declining 4.41 percent.
The five most-traded stocks were national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THYAO), private lender Garanti (GARAN), leading petrochemicals producer Petkim (PETKM), followed by iron and steel producer Eregli Demir Celik (EREGL) and pharmaceutical company Eczacibasi Ilac (ECILC).
The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate stand at 3.5210 as of 5 p.m. (1400GMT) on Thursday, compared with 3.52 at Wednesday's close.
Borsa Istanbul's Gold Exchange index fell by 0.66 percent while the price of gold per kilogram decreased to 142,100 Turkish liras (around $40,297) as of 4.30 p.m (1330 GMT).