Turkish stocks fall sharply after Central Bank decision

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index recorded a sharp fall of 3.33 percent to close at 92,133.82 points on Tuesday with a trade volume of around 10.3 billion Turkish liras ($2.1 billion).

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index ended the day with a 3,171.33-point decline from Monday's close of 95,305.15 points, while it started the second business day of the week at 95,524.43 points.

The fall came after the Central Bank's decision to keep interest rates constant at 17.75 percent on Tuesday -- contrary to expectations.

Following the bank's announcement, Turkish lira lost ground against foreign exchanges. One U.S. dollar traded for 4.8740 Turkish liras as of 5 p.m. local time (1400GMT) Tuesday, climbing from 4.7420 at Monday's close.

The euro/lira exchange rate also rose steeply to 5.7090 by market close, versus 5.5520 at the previous close, and one British pound traded for 6.4230 Turkish liras, while the GBP/TRY rate was 6.2340 at Monday's close.

In Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets, one ounce of gold traded for $1,227.50 as of 4.30 p.m. local time (1330GMT) Tuesday, down from $1,231.30 at the previous close.

As of 6 p.m. local time (1500GMT), the price of Brent oil stood at $73.77 per barrel -- hovering between $72.72 and $73.83 on Tuesday -- climbing from around $66 at the beginning of 2018.