Turkish stocks flat at Thursday's close

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index ended Thursday at 122,283.87 points, falling 0.03% from the previous close.

Starting the day at 123,930.11 points, Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index was down 36.90 points from the midweek close at 122,320.77 points.

During Thursday's trading, the BIST 100 hovered between 121,991.96 points and 123,844.96 points, with 46 stocks on the index rising, 44 falling, and 10 flat compared to the previous close.

Closing the day with a market value of nearly 844.4 billion Turkish liras ($141.3 billion), the benchmark index posted a daily trading volume of 14.6 billion Turkish liras (nearly $2.4 billion).

Shares of national flag carrier Turkish Airlines, energy firm Odas Elektrik, and iron and polyester producer Sasa posted the highest trading volumes.

Stocks of electronic appliances manufacturer Vestel gained the most -- up 10.08% -- while shares of airline company Pegasus did the worst, falling 4.01%.

An ounce of gold sold for $1,564.80 at the daily close in Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets, versus $1,554.50 at the previous close.