Turkish stocks end week with loss

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index ended Friday down 0.32 percent to close the week at 102,451.74 points.

Opening the day at 102,494.86 points, Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index went down 332.29 points from the previous close.

On a weekly basis, the benchmark index fell slightly -- down 0.47 percent -- as it has climbed over 12 percent since the beginning of this year.

By market close, the U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate stood at 5.2460, versus 5.2530 at Thursday's close. During the week, the USD/TRY rate was stable, rising only 0.63 percent compared to 5.2130 at close on Feb. 1.

One euro traded for 5.9550 liras, as the EUR/TRY rate was 5.9640 at the previous close. The British pound/Turkish lira rate was 6.8070, compared to 6.8220 a day ago.

One ounce of gold was sold for $1,313.10 at the daily close in Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets, up from $1,307.00 at the previous close.

With a day range of $61.06 to $62.37, one barrel of Brent oil traded for $61.80 as of 6.15 p.m. local time (1515GMT) on Friday.

At the beginning of 2019, the price of Brent oil was around $53 per barrel.