Turkey's Borsa Istanbul closes week up

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s benchmark index closed the day up 0.10 percent to stand at 106,842.79 points at Friday's close.

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index rose 107.23 points with a total trading volume of 4.7 billion Turkish liras (approximately $1.33 billion).

The BIST 100 was up 1.58 percent for the week, compared with last Friday's close at 105,175.73 points.

Since the beginning of this year Turkey's benchmark index has risen 37.4 percent, compared to its close at 77,754.46 points on Jan. 2, the year’s first trading day.

The banking and holding sector indices fell 0.09 and 1.71 percent, respectively. Among all sectors, the basic metal index was the best performer with a 3.55 percent hike, while the holding sector was the worst.

Shares of Kardemir Karabuk (KRDMD), operating in the iron-steel industry, were the top gainer on Friday -- up 5.21 percent -- while stocks of prominent Turkish conglomerate Sabanci Holding (SAHOL) saw the biggest decline, down 5.24 percent.

The five most-traded stocks were national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THYAO), major defense systems company Aselsan (ASELS), Kardemir Karabuk (KRDMD), followed by Sabanci Holding (SAHOL) and private lender Garanti (GARAN).

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate rose slightly to 3.5320 as of 5 p.m. (1400GMT) on Friday, compared to 3.5290 at Thursday’s close.

Last Friday, July 14, one dollar was exchanged for 3.5360 Turkish liras. The exchange rate saw its historic high in mid-January this year by climbing to around 3.94.

On the last transaction day of the week, Borsa Istanbul's Gold Exchange index went up 0.60 percent, while the price of gold per kilogram also rose to 141,800 Turkish liras (around $40,184) as of 4.30 p.m. (1330GMT).