Turkish benchmark index flat at open

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index rose 0.06 percent or 60.41 points to open at 99,737.52 points on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index climbed 1.7 percent to close the day at 99,677.11 points with a daily trading volume of 8 billion Turkish liras ($1.5 billion).

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was flat at 5.3450 as of 9.30 a.m. local time (0630GMT), compared to Tuesday's closing rate of 5.3490.

The euro/lira rate also dropped to 6.0740, versus 6.1060 at the last close. One British pound traded for 6.9200 Turkish liras, as the GBP/TRY rate was 6.9300 by market close on Tuesday.

The price of Brent oil climbed to around $61.88 per barrel as of 10.00 a.m. local time (0700GMT) Wednesday, versus $61.50 at Tuesday's closing.