Turkish stocks flat at close

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s benchmark index closed the day with just a 0.75-point decrease to stand at 77,393.69 points on Tuesday.

The BIST 100 index was flat with a total trading volume of 4.3 billion Turkish liras (approximately $1.14 billion), relatively high compared to the recent weeks.

On the second day of the week, the banking sector index fell 1.18 percent, and the holding index advanced by 0.36 percent. The basic metal index rose the most – 2.45 percent – while the leasing factoring index declined the most, 1.41 percent.

The most heavily traded stocks were lenders Garanti Bank, Akbank, Halkbank, a major cement producer Afyon Cimento and the country's national flag carrier Turkish Airlines.

Afyon Cimento also enjoyed a 10.83 percent rise in its shares -- the highest of the day -- while shares of GSD Holding, heavily involved in finance and ship owning, suffered the largest decline with a 3.39 percent drop.

Brazilian food processor BRF SA and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund have agreed to buy 79.5 percent of the operations of Turkish poultry producer Banvit, the Turkish company said in a statement to the Borsa Istanbul stock exchange Tuesday.

Under the deal, in a joint venture, BRF and the Qatar Investment Authority would acquire around 48 and 32 percent, respectively, from Banvit with a total value of $470 million.

The Borsa Istanbul Gold Exchange index increased 0.34 percent in value, with gold trading at 143,350 Turkish liras (around $37,953) per kilogram as of 4.30 p.m. (1330GMT).

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate continued to increase and stood at 3.7770 as of 5 p.m. (1400GMT) Tuesday, compared to 3.7340 in Monday's closing session.

Turkish central bank cut the foreign exchange reserve requirement ratios for lenders as part of its efforts to increase the cash circulating in the country's economy on Tuesday.

"Forex reserve requirement ratios for banks were cut by 50 basis points. The move could provide up to $1.5 billion to the financial sector," the bank said in a statement.

The bank also said that it is monitoring excessive volatility in the markets and would take necessary measures to counter unhealthy price developments.

Analysts said investors would follow the country's current account deficit figures for last November set to be revealed by the central bank on Wednesday.

According to Anadolu Agency financial survey, a group of 19 economists predicted a $2.6 billion current account deficit for November, marking a half billion dollar rise, i.e. a 23 percent increase compared to a $2.1 billion deficit in November 2015.