Turkish shares continue to break new records

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s benchmark index went up 965.51 points to stand at 105,175.73 points at Friday's close, marking Borsa Istanbul's highest close ever.

Continuing the recent months' upward trend, Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index saw a historic peak at 105,199.70 points during trading hours.

On the last transaction day of the week, the index advanced 0.93 percent with a total trading volume of 4.1 billion Turkish liras (approximately $1.16 billion). The BIST 100 saw a 5.08 percent rise in a week, up from 100,084.37 points at the close on July 7.

The banking and holding sector indexes rose one percent and 1.15 percent, respectively. The wholesale and retail trade index was the best performer with a 1.18 percent increase while the food beverage sector performed the worst one, down 1.22 percent.

The stocks of Alkim Kimya (ALKIM), which produces chemical materials, gained the most -- up 6.17 percent -- while the shares of IT company Kron Telekomunikasyon (KRONT) recorded the largest decline on Friday, falling 2.84 percent.

The five most traded stocks were national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THYAO), major cement producer Afyon Cimento (AFYON), mining companies Koza Madencilik (KOZAA) and Koza Altin (KOZAL), followed by private lender Garanti (GARAN).

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate fell to 3.5360 Turkish liras as of 5 p.m. (1400GMT) on Friday, compared to 3.5680 at Thursday's close. One dollar was traded for 3.6240 Turkish liras at last week's close on July 7.

Borsa Istanbul's Gold Exchange index rose by 0.53 percent, while the price of gold per kilogram increased to 140,700 Turkish liras (around $39,762) as of 4.30 p.m. (1330GMT).