Turkish stocks up at close

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s benchmark index closed the day with a 607.10-point hike to reach at 89,138.37 points on Thursday.

The BIST 100 index rose by 0.69 percent with a total trading volume of four billion Turkish liras (approximately $1.12 billion).

On the fourth day of the week, the banking sector advanced by 0.90 percent while the holding index was flat with a 0.09 percent increase.

Among all sectors, the basic metal index was the best performer -- up 2.56 percent -- while the investment trusts index was the worst, falling 1.46 percent.

The most heavily traded stocks were lenders Garanti, Halkbank, the country's national flag carrier Turkish Airlines plus other private lenders Akbank and Is Bankasi.

Shares of Torunlar GYO (TRGYO), a real estate investment trust, were the best performer of the day, rising 3.71 percent.

Stocks of Park Elektrik (PRKME), heavily involved in the energy and mining sectors, saw the largest decline of the day, falling 4.50 percent. The company's shares were the best performer of yesterday with a 6.22 percent increase.

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate fell below 3.57 for the first time since early January. One dollar was worth 3.5670 as of 5 p.m. (1400GMT) Thursday, compared to 3.6080 at Wednesday's closing.

The dollar traded for 3.6710 liras at last week's closing, after seeing a historic hike -- 3.90 liras -- in mid-January.

The Borsa Istanbul Gold Exchange index gained 0.40 percent while the price of gold for per kilogram decreased to 142,800 Turkish liras (around $40,033) as of 4.30 p.m. (1330GMT), compared with 143,600 Turkish liras (around $39,783) at Wednesday's closing.