Turkish shares up at close

Turkish shares up at close

BIST 100 index closes 0.73 pct higher; US dollar/Turkish lira stands below 3.67

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s benchmark index closed the week up 643.55 points to 88,830.41 Friday.

The BIST 100 index rose 0.73 percent with a total trading volume of 3.5 billion Turkish liras (approximately $954 million). Compared with last Friday's close at 87,473.33, the index has climbed 1.55 percent in one week.

On the last day of the week, the banking and holding sector indices rose 1.19 and 1.02 percent, respectively. Among all sectors, the communication index was the best performer -- up 2.28 percent -- while the information technologies sector fell the most, 1.38 percent.

The most heavily traded stocks were lenders Garanti, Halkbank, and Akbank, the country's national flag carrier Turkish Airlines, and Yapi Kredi, another private lender.

Shares of Anadolu Cam (ANACM), operating under one of the world's major glass manufacturers -- Turkey's Sisecam -- were the top gainers of the day, rising 4.13 percent.

Software producer Logo (LOGO) suffered the biggest drop of the day, with its shares falling 3.30 percent.

The Borsa Istanbul Gold Exchange index was flat with just a 0.04 percent increase, while gold was trading at 146,537 Turkish liras (around $39,943) per kilogram as of 4.30 p.m. (1330GMT).

On Friday, the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) said that almost 5,200 new companies were started in the first month of 2017.

That was down 9.14 percent from January 2016, while 1,929 companies went out of business, up 0.73 percent.

- Dollar/lira below 3.67

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was flat at 3.6660 as of 5 p.m. (1400GMT) Friday, compared to 3.6670 at Thursday's closing.

One dollar was worth 3.6960 liras last Friday, Feb. 10, and worth 3.90 liras in mid-January.

Turkey’s economy is fundamentally sound and constitutional changes could help a “rapid” recovery, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said Friday, referring to the April 16 referendum on such changes, including the shift to a presidential system.

On the lira’s 20 percent fall against the dollar last year, Simsek said an overnight lending rate hike on Jan. 24 and an inflow of funds to Turkey had had a “positive influence on support for the lira against the dollar.”

Simsek, who has responsibility for the economy, said economic reforms in the wake of a Yes vote in the referendum would establish long-term stability.

“Our citizens should consider these constitutional changes well,” he said. “A presidential system would also provide sustainable economic growth by dispelling uncertainty and attracting more investment.”

Simsek added that indicators show Turkey can expect moderate growth in the final quarter of 2016. In figures released last month, the third quarter showed a 1.8 percent year-on-year contraction.

“Technically, there will probably not be a recession,” he added.


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