Turkish stocks close at 4-month high, lira gains ground

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index ended Thursday up 1.16 percent to close at 100,298.73 points -- the highest close over the past four months.

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index recorded a 1,149.88-point hike from Wednesday's close of 99,148.85 points, while it started the day at 99,083.90 points.

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate fell steeply below 6.00, seeing its lowest level over the past four weeks.

By market close, one dollar traded for 5.9950 liras, versus 6.1070 at Wednesday's close.

The euro/lira rate stood at 7.0250, down from 7.1700 at the previous close, while one British pound traded for 7.8920 Turkish liras, versus 8.0610.

In Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets, one ounce of gold traded for $1,195.50 at Thursday's close, compared with $1,195.00 at close on Wednesday.

As of 6.25 p.m. local time (1525GMT), the price of Brent oil stood at around $81.14 per barrel, hovering between $80.85 and $81.89 during Thursday.

Since the beginning of this year, Brent oil price has risen from $66 a barrel.