Stocks, lira gain ground on Turkish interest rate hike

By Tuba Sahin and Bekir Gurdamar

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish lira rallied against other exchange rates as Turkish stocks gained ground on Thursday following an interest rate hike by the country's Central Bank.

In line with market expectations, the bank raised its one-week repo rate -- also known as its policy rate -- by 475 basis points to 15%.

It also decided to provide all funding through this rate, which it identified as its main policy rate.

The lira rose by around 2.5% against the US dollar as soon as the move was announced. The US dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate stabilized below the 7.60 mark, decreasing by more than 1.3% from the previous close.

The country's benchmark stock index surpassed 1,300 points with the backing of strong buying, up 0.9% from the previous close and 1,284 points from before the pre-hike level.