Turkish stocks down at close

By Gokhan Ergocun

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s benchmark index fell by 0.47 percent to stand at 105,718.31 points at the close on Tuesday.

Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 index closed the day by going down 498.68 points with a total trading volume of 4.7 billion Turkish liras (approximately $1.33 billion).

The banking and holding sectors went down 0.93 percent and 0.84 percent, respectively.

Among all sectors, the construction index was the best performer -- up 1.80 percent -- while the chemical, oil and plastics sectors saw the biggest decline, falling 1.09 percent.

Shares of Turkish defense giant Aselsan (ASELS) were the top gainer with an increase of 6.54 percent in value while stocks of major cement producer Afyon Cimento (AFYON) were the worst performers, declining 4.70 percent.

The five most-traded stocks were defense industry company Aselsan (ASELS), national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THYAO), private lender Garanti (GARAN) followed by cement producer Afyon Cimento (AFYON) and real estate investment trust Emlak Konut GMYO (EKGYO).

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate stand at 3.5290 as of 5 p.m. (1400GMT) on Tuesday, compared with 3.5340 at Monday's close.

Borsa Istanbul's Gold Exchange index rose by 1.08 percent while the price of gold per kilogram increased to 141,200 Turkish liras (around $39,990) as of 4.30 p.m (1330 GMT).