Türkiye's Borsa Istanbul up at open

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye's benchmark stock index opened at 3,166.49 points on Friday, up 0.76%, or 23.74 points, from the previous close.

The US dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate slightly rose to 18.2214 as of 9.44 a.m. local time (0644GMT) from 18.2080 at the previous close.

The euro/Turkish lira exchange rate increased to 18.2075 from 18.1130, while one British pound traded for 21.0707 Turkish liras, up from 21.0370 at the previous close.

Brent crude oil was selling for around $94.48 per barrel.

Analysts said the cautious course in the markets continues with the expectations that the aggressive policy steps to be taken by the central banks due to inflationary concerns may push the already slowing economies into recession.

Pointing out that both the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB) are more likely to raise interest rates by 75 basis points at their meetings this month, analysts noted the data in the US employment report is important in shaping pricing.

Market expectations point to a slowdown in non-farm employment growth, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 3.5%, giving a mixed signal.