Turkey's benchmark stock index ends day up

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index closed Thursday up 0.74 percent at 93,002.93 points with a trade volume of 8.05 billion Turkish liras ($1.66 billion).

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index ended the day with a 680.98-point hike from Wednesday's close of 92,321.95 points, while it started Thursday at 92,752.30 points.

The benchmark index hovered between 92,193.47 points and 93,295.81 points during trading hours, while 53 stocks on the BIST 100 rose, 36 fell, and 11 were flat compared to the previous close.

The index hit its all-time high at 121,531.50 points on Jan. 29, and has fallen around 20 percent since the beginning of this year.

On Thursday, the total market value of listed shares on the BIST 100 was around 615 billion Turkish liras ($128 billion) at close.

Among all sectors, the BIST mining index rose the most, up 4.55 percent, while the banking index saw the worst performance, falling 0.95 percent.

Energy and construction company Isiklar Enerji Yapi Holding (IEYHO) saw the biggest drop of the day, as its stocks fell 7.14 percent, and shares of energy company Ipek Dogal Enerji (IPEKE) gained the most, rising 9.41 percent.

The USD/TRY exchange was 4.8310 as of 5 p.m. local time (1400GMT), versus 4.8180 at Wednesday's close.

The euro/lira exchange rate was stable at 5.6090 by market close, compared to 5.6060 at the previous close, and one British pound traded for 6.2820 Turkish liras, while the GBP/TRY rate was 6.2960 at Wednesday's close.

In Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets, one ounce of gold traded for $1,217 as of 4.30 p.m. local time (1330GMT) Thursday, versus $1,226 at the previous close.

As of 7 p.m. local time (1600GMT), the price of Brent oil stood at $72.73 per barrel -- hovering between $71.83 and $73.79 on Thursday -- versus around $66 at the beginning of this year.