UPDATE - Turkish stocks end Thursday down 0.18%

UPDATES WITH MORE DAILY FIGURES

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index ended Thursday down 0.18% to close at 98,398.81 points.

Starting the day at 98.579,92 points, Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index fell 172.65 points from 98,571.46 points at midweek close.

During Thursday's trading, the BIST 100 hovered between 97,799.59 points and 99,273.48 points -- 45 stocks on the index rose, 47 fell, and eight were flat compared to the previous close.

Closing the day with a market value of nearly 694.8 billion Turkish liras ($97.4 billion), the benchmark index posted a daily trading volume of 12.1 billion Turkish liras ($1.7 billion).

Shares of iron/steel producer Kardemir, private lender Garanti BBVA and national flag carrier Turkish Airlines saw the highest trading volumes, accounting for some 26% of the benchmark index's total trade volume.

Stocks of Alkim Kimya, which produces chemical materials, were the top gainer with a 10.5% rise, while shares of automotive manufacturer Ford Otosan dropped the most, falling 4.24%.

The price of Brent oil was $30.68 per barrel as of 6 p.m. local time (1500GMT) on Thursday, with a day range of $29.22 to $31.84.

At the beginning of 2020, a barrel of Brent oil sold for around $58.