Turkey's benchmark stock index ends day with gains

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index closed Wednesday up 0.76 percent at 92,321.95 points with a total trading volume of around 11.5 billion Turkish liras ($2.4 billion).

On the third transaction day of the week, Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index ended the day with a 692.40-point hike from Tuesday's close at 91,629.55 points, while it started the day at 91,722.16 points.

The USD/TRY exchange rose slightly to 4.8180 as of 5 p.m. local time (1400GMT), up from 4.8140 at Tuesday's close.

The euro/lira exchange rate fell to 5.6060 by market close, versus 5.6310 at Tuesday's close, and one British pound traded for 6.2960 Turkish liras, while the GBP/TRY rate was 6.3510 at the previous close.

In Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets, one ounce of gold traded for $1,226.00 as of 4.30 p.m. local time (1330GMT) Wednesday, versus $1,241.70 at previous close.

As of 6.00 p.m. local time (1500GMT), the price of Brent oil rose slightly to $72.19 per barrel Wednesday, versus $72.03 on Tuesday's close, while it was around $66 at the beginning of this year.