Turkey's Borsa Istanbul flat at close

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s benchmark index decline 101.46 points to close at 75,929.32, daily session on Thursday.

On the fourth day of the week, the BIST 100 index decreased by 0.13 percent, while the banking sector index declined 0.41 percent and the holding sector index rose 0.04 percent. The total trading volume of the country's stock exchange market was 3.7 billion Turkish liras (approx. $1.07 billion).

Among sector indices, the basic metal index rose the most -- by 1.37 percent -- while the insurance sector declined most by 1.65 percent.

The most heavily-traded stocks were lenders Garanti Bank, Halkbank, Akbank, Vakifbank, and the national flag carrier, Turkish Airlines.

Turkish Airlines announced on Thursday that the airline carried 58.3 million passengers in Jan.-Nov. 2016 period, 3 percent higher compared to the same period of last year.

Shares of Metro Holding, primarily involved in transportation sector, were the top percent gainer with an increase of 8.42 percent in value, while Netas, operates in information tech sector, saw the biggest decline with a drop of 3.38 percent.

The Borsa Istanbul Gold Exchange index advanced by 0.31 percent in value, with gold trading at 128,200 Turkish liras ($37,352) per kilogram.

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was up to stand at 3.4370 at 5 p.m. (1400GMT) on Thursday, compared to 3.4140 at Wednesday's closing session.

On Thursday afternoon, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced that the Economic Coordination Committee had taken some measures to accelerate economic growth and minimize foreign exchange volatility by a fund to the tune of up to 250 billion Turkish liras ($74.3 billion).

Yildirim said the new fund, under the Treasury's guarantees, would help the banking system re-accelerate its credit growth.

Turkish Statistical Institute revealed on Thursday that Turkey's calendar-adjusted industrial production soared by 2 percent in October, beating estimates by a wide margin from a year earlier.