Turkish stocks go down at close

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s benchmark stock index was down 0.43 percent to stand at 99,638.65 points at Friday's close.

Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 index closed the week with a 433.50-point decrease, while the total trading volume was 3.3 billion Turkish liras (approximately $941 million).

The banking and holding indices fell by 0.79 percent and 0.99 percent, respectively. Among all sectors, the mining index was the best performer -- up 6.01 percent -- while the mining sector suffered the largest drop, going down 2.23 percent.

The index's top five stocks by transaction volume were national flag carrier Turkish Airlines, private lender Garanti, real estate investment trust Emlak Konut, mining company Koza Madencilik and major cement producer Afyon Cimento.

Stocks of Koza were the top gainer with 7.91 percent, while stocks of brewer and soft drinks manufacturer Anadolu Efes were the worst performer, falling 3.67 percent.

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate dropped to 3.5080 as of 5 p.m. (1400GMT) on Friday, compared with 3.5160 at Thursday's close.

Borsa Istanbul's Gold Exchange index was flat, while the price of gold per kilogram stood at 142,000 Turkish liras (around $40,503) as of 4.30 p.m. (1330GMT).