UPDATE - Turkish stocks end day with losses

UPDATES WITH MORE DAILY FIGURES FOR STOCKS AND SECTORS

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's benchmark stock index closed Wednesday down 2.41 percent at 107,401.38 points with a trade volume of around 8 billion Turkish liras ($1.9 billion).

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index ended the day with a 2,657.24-point fall from Tuesday's close of 110,058.62 points, while it opened the day at 110,376.18 points, up 0.29 percent.

During trading hours, the benchmark index hovered between 106,760.70 points and 110,520.51 points, while 11 stocks on the index were on the rise, 87 on the decline, and two flat compared to the previous close.

The total market value of listed shares on the BIST 100 was around 667 billion Turkish liras ($163.3 billion) at close.

At close, the banking and holding sector indices were down 3.90 and 2.21 percent, respectively.

Among all sectors, the leasing factoring sector index was the top gainer for the fourth consecutive day, up 15.58 percent, and the BIST tourism index saw the worst performance, falling 6.41 percent.

Stocks of events organizer Flap Kongre Toplanti Hizmetleri (FLAP) rose the most, 19.93 percent, while shares of Kipa Ticaret (KIPA), operating supermarkets, saw the largest decline for a third day in a row, losing 19.80 percent.

The BIST 100's most-traded listed companies were national flag carrier Turkish Airlines, private lender Garanti, iron/steel producer Kardemir, state lender Halkbank, and private lender Akbank.

The USD/TRY exchange was flat at 4.0940 as of 5 p.m. local time (1400GMT) Wednesday versus 4.0910 at Tuesday's close.

The euro/lira exchange rate stood at 4.9920 by market close -- down from 4.9980 at the previous close -- and one British pound traded for 5.7100 Turkish liras versus 5.7260 at the previous close.

The BIST Gold Exchange index was up 0.15 percent at close. In of Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets, one ounce of gold traded for $1,322.00 as of 4.30 p.m. local time (1330GMT) Wednesday, compared with $1,320.00 at Tuesday's close.

As of 6 p.m. local time (1500GMT), the price of Brent oil stood at $73.57 per barrel -- hovering between $73.18 and $74.18 during Wednesday -- climbing from around $66 at the beginning of this year.