Turkish stocks up 0.25% at weekly close

BIST 100 index surges 247.43 points from Thursday's close, USD/TRY exchange rate stands around 5.86

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index ended the week up 0.25% to close at 99,027.82 points on Friday.

Starting the last business day of the week at 99,231.71 points, Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index surged 247.43 points from 98,780.38 points at Thursday's close.

On a weekly basis, the benchmark index posted a 4.28% drop this week. At the beginning of this year, the BIST 100 stood around 89,000 points.

An ounce of gold sold for $1,498.75 at the weekly close in Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets, versus $1,504.00 at the previous close.

The price of Brent oil was $60.45 per barrel as of 6.30 p.m. local time (1530GMT) on Friday -- with a day range of $59.22 to $60.64.

At the beginning of 2019, a barrel of Brent oil sold for around $53.