Turkish stocks end week on rise

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index closed Friday up 0.31 percent at 95,416.03 points with a trading volume of around 7.9 billion Turkish liras (around $1.5 billion).

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index ended the day with a 290.46-point increase from Thursday's close of 95,125.57 points, while it opened the day at 95,164.50 points.

The USD/TRY exchange rate rose to 5.1820 as of 5 p.m. local time (1400GMT) Friday, compared with 5.1620 at Thursday's close.

The euro/lira exchange rate stood at 5.8890 by market close, versus 5.8830 at the previous close, while the British pound/lira exchange rate reached 6.5890 Turkish liras, compared with 6.6050 at Thursday's close.

In Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets, one ounce of gold traded for $1,223.70 as of 5.30 p.m. local time (1430GMT) Friday, down from 1,227.90 at the previous close.

As of 6 p.m. local time (1500GMT), the price of Brent oil dropped to $58.39 per barrel compared with $59.55 at the end of Thursday.