Turkey's Borsa Istanbul up at close

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s benchmark stock index advanced by 0.36 percent to close at 106,525.44 points on Wednesday.

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index rose 378.01 points with a total trading volume of 4.7 billion Turkish liras (nearly $1.33 billion).

On the third transaction day of the week, the BIST banks index was flat with a 0.01 percent decrease and the holding sector index went up by 0.57 percent.

The mining sector index performed the best with 6.88 percent hike while the BIST construction index fell the most, down 1.52 percent.

Stocks of Koza Madencilik (KOZAA), which operates in the mining industry, recorded the highest rise of the day -- up 13.93 percent -- while shares of Kordsa Global (KORDS), a producer of industrial yards, single end cords and tire cord fabrics, saw the biggest drop on Wednesday, falling 4.19 percent.

The BIST 100's most-traded stocks were national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THYAO), mining company Koza Madencilik (KOZAA), energy company Ipek Dogal Enerji (IPEKE), followed by gold miner Koza Altin (KOZAL) and private lender Garanti (GARAN).

Last Thursday, the BIST 100 climbed to 108,605.51 points -- a historic peak -- and posted its highest close ever at 108,391.71.

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate increased to 3.5350 as of 5 p.m. (1400GMT) on Wednesday, compared with 3.5150 at Tuesday's close.

Last Friday, one dollar was traded for 3.5320 Turkish liras. The exchange rate saw its historic high in mid-January this year by climbing to around 3.94.

Borsa Istanbul's Gold Exchange index was flat with just a 0.01 percent down, while the price of gold per kilogram stood at 144,000 Turkish liras (some $40,709) as of 4.30 p.m. (1330GMT) on Wednesday, up from 143,600 Turkish liras (around $40,753) at Tuesday's close.