Turkey: Borsa Istanbul ends week at over 100,000 points

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s benchmark index advanced by 0.25 percent to stand at 100,440.39 points at Friday's closing, marking a 0.80-percent hike compared with last week.

Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 index posted its highest "week close" with a 250.08-point increase, while the total trading volume was 4.1 billion Turkish liras (approximately $1.16 billion).

The banking and holding indices fell by 0.47 percent and 0.09 percent, respectively. Among all sectors, the mining sector was the best performer -- up 2.92 percent -- while the leasing factoring index suffered the biggest decline, down 1.83 percent.

The index's top five stocks by transaction volume were national flag carrier Turkish Airlines, private lenders Garanti and Akbank, followed by mining company Koza and iron-steel producer Eregli.

Shares of Yatas Bedding (YATAS), a prominent bedding and furniture manufacturer, were the top gainer with a 4.55-percent rise, while stocks of Celebi Hava Servisi, provides integrated ground services at airports, were the worst performer, falling 2.30 percent.

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate dropped slightly to 3.5170 as of 5 p.m. (1400GMT) on Friday, compared with 3.5210 at Thursday's close.

One dollar was traded for 3.5080 at the close of last week, June 23, down from 3.94 in mid-January this year due to measures taken by the Turkish Central Bank.

Borsa Istanbul's Gold Exchange index was flat with a 0.04 decrease, while the price of gold per kilogram fell to 140,900 Turkish liras (some $40,016) as of 4.30 p.m. (1330GMT).