Turkish stocks jump on Monday

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish stocks ended 0.31 percent higher on Monday after losing 1.02 percent on Friday.

Shares on the Borsa Istanbul national 100-share index ended the day up 244.01 points at 78,472.57.

On the first trading day of the week, the banking index rose about 0.55 percent and the construction index and holding index were also up 1.85 and 1.06 percent, respectively.

The communication sector ended 1.23 percent lower for the day, when a total trading volume of 2.6 billion Turkish liras ($884 million).

Shares in Borsa Istanbul's most actively traded stock was Garanti Bank, rose by nearly one percent after losing over one percent to 7.88 lira, while heavily traded national flag carrier Turkish Airlines, THYAO, shares lost slightly by 0.53 percent after losing 1.58 percent Friday to 5.59 lira.

State lender Halkbank increased by 0.92 percent to 8.76 liras while private lender Yapi Kredi Bank's shares lost by 1.64 percent to 3.60 lira.

The biggest winner was Alcatel Lucent Teletas Telekomunikasyon A.S. (ALCTL), an increase of 14.55 percent or 0.78 points to trade at 6.14 in late trading.

The Borsa Istanbul Gold Exchange index rose 1.78 percent in value Monday after gaining 0.38 percent the previous trading, with gold trading at 127,160 Turkish liras per kilogram, down 127,350 at Friday's close.

The lira gained against the U.S. dollar, reaching 2.9460 on Monday. The local benchmark 10-year government bond yield rose to 9.44 percent from 9.41 percent.

On Monday, Turkish Finance Minister Naci Agbal said that the government ran a budget deficit of 129 million liras ($44 million) in July, but it ran a surplus of 1.3 billion liras ($440 million) in January-July.

“Fiscal discipline, which constitutes one of the most powerful aspects of the Turkish economy, will be maintained in the coming period," he said in a statement.

Agbal vowed to continue making structural reforms without pause, which he said would add further strength to the Turkish economy.

Government revenues in July stood at 42.5 billion Turkish liras ($14.3 billion), a 6.1 percent increase year-on-year, while budget expenditures were 42.4 billion Turkish liras ($14.35 billion), down 6.8 percent from a year earlier.

During Jan.-July, tax revenues also rose 9.5 percent within the period to 252.7 billion liras ($85.5 billion). Budget expenditures rose to 316.3 billion Turkish liras ($107 billion), marking a 12.1 percent increase year-on-year.

The unemployment rate in Turkey rose 0.1 percentage point in May year-on-year, the Turkish Statistical Institute said in a statement on Monday.

The number of unemployed persons aged 15 years old and over rose to 2.89 million in May 2016, an increase of 106,000 from the previous year, while the unemployment rate stood at 9.4 percent, the statement said.