Turkish shares, lira open higher amid oil price jump

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish stocks opened higher on Tuesday amid a jump in oil prices and expectations that easy monetary policy will be extended around the globe.

Borsa Istanbul's BIST-100, the country’s benchmark index, was up 0.44 percent (315.55 points) to reach 78,788.11 at the opening of the daily session Tuesday, after rising 0.31 percent Monday.

The Turkish lira on Tuesday was trading marginally higher against the U.S. dollar as the greenback was weak against other emerging currencies after hopes of an interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve this year waned.

The lira rose to 2.9312 against the dollar, the highest since July 15, while the benchmark 10-year government bond yield remained flat at 9.42 percent

The home currency was trading at 2.9460 per dollar at 10.30 am local time (0730GMT).

The Turkish Treasury Tuesday will be holding an auction by reopening a fixed coupon bond of 10-year maturity and semiannual coupon rate of 5.3 percent.

Turkish conglomerate Koc Holding posted a net profit of 918 million lira in the second quarter, above market expectation of 839 million lira.

Investors are cautious as the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday will release minutes of its recent meeting that could provide clues on its plans to raise interest rates and its view on the health of the economy.

Oil prices surged over 12 percent over just the past four trading days to above $48.40 a barrel on Tuesday, after sinking below $40 a barrel two weeks ago.