Turkish stocks down at close

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s benchmark stock index fell 0.84 percent to close at 108,714.58 points on Wednesday.

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index decreased 924.54 points with a total trading volume of 4.8 billion Turkish liras ($1.35 billion).

The BIST 100 hit its historic peak of 109,947.87 points on Monday, and recorded its highest close at 109,781.13 points.

On Wednesday, the banking and holding sector indices went down by 1.22 and 0.46 percent, respectively.

Among all sectors, the BIST mining index was the best performer with a 2.92 percent hike while the construction sector was the worst, falling 1.95 percent.

Shares of energy and mining company Park Elektrik (PRKME) were the top gainer of the day -- up 7.38 percent -- while Izmir Demir Celik (IZMDC), which operates in the steel industry, saw the biggest drop, falling 7.43 percent.

The BIST 100's most-traded stocks were mining company Koza Madencilik (KOZAA), national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THYAO), private lender Garanti (GARAN), Park Elektrik (PRKME) and iron-steel producer Kardemir Karabuk (KRDMD).

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate stood at 3.5420 as of 5 p.m. (1400GMT) on Wednesday, up from 3.5290 at Tuesday's close.

Last Friday, one dollar was traded for 3.5370 Turkish liras. The exchange rate saw its historic high in mid-January this year climbing to around 3.94 Turkish liras.

Borsa Istanbul's Gold Exchange index went up by 0.87 percent, while the price of gold per kilogram rose to 144,750 Turkish liras ($40,850) as of 4.30 p.m. (1330GMT) on Wednesday, compared with 143,600 Turkish liras ($40,680) at Tuesday's close.