Turkish stocks up nearly 1 pct at close

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s benchmark index closed the day with a 720.27-point rise to stand at 77,106.57 points on Friday.

The BIST 100 index increased by 0.94 percent with a total trading volume of 2.7 billion Turkish liras (approximately $743 million).

On the last trading day of the week, the banking and holding indices advanced by 1.34 and 0.79 percent, respectively. Among all sector indices, the metal products machinery index gained the most – 1.74 percent – while the leasing factoring index declined the most, 1.72 percent.

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

Bayraktar Group's company Ege Endustri, producing spare parts for the automotive industry, enjoyed a 6.75 percent rise in its shares – the highest of the day – while shares of Halk GYO, a real estate investment trust operating under state lender Halkbank, saw the biggest drop with a 2.17 percent decline.

The Borsa Istanbul Gold Exchange index increased 0.26 percent in value, with gold trading at 136,850 Turkish liras (some $37,660) per kilogram as of 4.30 p.m. (1330GMT).

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange increased slightly to stand at 3.6340 as of 5 p.m. (1400GMT) Friday, compared to 3.6250 in Thursday's closing session.

On Friday, Turkish deputy prime minister Mehmet Simsek said that Turkey would offer a new credit guarantee fund for both the agricultural and industrial sectors.

"Lawmakers are on the verge of approving a 25 billion Turkish lira ($6.94 billion) credit guarantee fund to boost bank loans to businesses. This is a really serious boost to the real sector," said Simsek.

Deputy PM Simsek stated that the bill was expected to pass through parliament on Friday night and would cover non-performing loans at up to 7 percent of all loans -- an increase from the current 3 percent.

According to the country's Automotive Manufacturers Association (OSD) release on Friday, the Turkish overall auto sales market, including light trucks, hit a new record with nearly one million sales in 2016.

The OSD said the overall auto sales market increased by 1.6 percent to reach at 983,720 last year compared to 2015, marking the highest level of all times.