Turkish stocks hit new record as growth excels

By Bahattin Gonultas

ANKARA (AA) - A strong first quarter growth data pushed Turkish stocks to fresh record highs on Monday.

Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 index rose by 0.56 percent or 549.54 points to stand at 99,607.04 points before break time on Monday after the Turkish Statistical Institute said Turkey's economy grew by five percent in the first quarter of 2017.

The Turkish lira also strengthened by about 0.3 percent to 3.5210 compared with its start of 3.5371 during Monday’s trading.

The country’s growth figure was higher than the Anadolu Agency’s Finance Desk forecast, which had predicted a 3.8 percent growth.

The gross domestic product increased by five percent in the first quarter of 2017, compared with the same quarter last year, and reached 641.58 billion Turkish liras ($173.78 billion) at current prices, the Turkish Statistical Institute said in its report.

On Monday, the Central Bank said the country’s current account deficit shrunk to $3.6 billion in April, a fall of $542 million year-on-year.

April’s deficit means the 12-month rolling deficit stands at $33.2 million, the bank said.