Turkish stocks hit record levels

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index saw a historic peak of over 109,700 points during Monday’s afternoon session. It comes amid a more-than-40 percent rise in 2017.

Continuing recent months' upward trend, Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index started the week at 109,105.09 points -- its highest opening of all time.

The BIST 100 posted its highest-ever close -- 108,545.31 points -- last Friday, a 0.78-percent weekly increase.

Since the beginning of 2017 the index has risen nearly 41 percent, compared to its close of 77,754.46 points on Jan. 2, the year’s first trading day.

The index has advanced by 42.7 percent year-on-year, compared with its weekly close at 76,057.68 points on Aug. 5, 2016.

The BIST 100 hovered over 80,000 points just before the last year's July 15 defeated coup attempt, standing at 82,825.36 points at Friday's close on July 15, 2016.

In the week following the coup plot, Turkey's benchmark stock index went down steeply, decreasing nearly 14 percent to close the week at 71,738.43 points on July 22, 2016.