Turkey's Borsa Istanbul flat at opening

ANKARA (AA) – The BIST 100 index rose 38.67 points to open at 77,443.40 on Friday in its first transactions.

On the last opening session of the week, the country's benchmark index started with a 0.05 percent increase.

The banking and holding sector indices advanced 0.15 and 0.16 percent, respectively. The investment trusts sector index rose the most, by 0.30 percent. The food and beverage index saw the biggest drop, 0.61 percent, in initial transactions.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate fell slightly to stand at 3.5080 at 10 a.m. (0700GMT) Friday, compared to 3.5130 at Thursday's close.

Gold held at $1,131.59 an ounce.

U.S. crude futures fell by 0.55 percent to $52.66 a barrel, while benchmark Brent crude futures slipped by 0.38 percent to $54.84.