Turkey's benchmark stock index rises 3.5 pct at close

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index closed Wednesday up 3.51 percent at 95,368.59 points with a total trading volume of around 11.3 billion Turkish liras ($2.3 billion).

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index ended the day with a 3,234.78-point hike from Tuesday's close at 92,133.82 points, while it started the day at 92,382.48 points.

The USD/TRY exchange rate dropped to 4.8350 as of 5 p.m. local time (1400GMT), down from 4.8740 at Tuesday's close.

The euro/lira exchange rate fell to 5.6570 by market close, versus 5.7090 at Tuesday's close, and one British pound traded for 6.3730 Turkish liras, while the GBP/TRY rate was 6.4230 at the previous close.

In Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets, one ounce of gold traded for $1,232.70 as of 4.30 p.m. local time (1330GMT) Wednesday, versus $1,227.50 at previous close.

As of 6.00 p.m. local time (1500GMT), the price of Brent oil dropped to $73.31 per barrel Wednesday, versus $73.44 on Tuesday's close.