Turkey's Borsa Istanbul Up At Close

Turkey's benchmark stock index increased by 0.35 percent on Friday to close at 107,202.43 points.



Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index gained 377.10 points while the total trading volume was 4.6 billion Turkish liras (around $1.3 billion).



On a weekly basis, the benchmark index was up 0.22 percent, compared with last Friday's close at 106,963.10 points. During trading hours on Tuesday, Aug. 15, the BIST 100 reached its highest level of all times, hitting 110,232.52 points.



Since the beginning of the year, the index has risen nearly 38 percent, and posted its highest close at 109,781.13 points on Aug. 7.



On the last transaction day of the week, the BIST banking index fell 0.48 percent while the holding sector index increased by 0.63 percent.



Among all sectors, the wholesale and retail trade sector performed the best, going up 3.95 percent, whereas the BIST telecommunication index was the worst performer of the day, falling 0.92 percent.



The stocks of poultry and feed producer Banvit (BANVT) were the best performer with a 19.97 percent rise while private equity firm Gozde Girisim (GOZDE) saw the biggest drop on Friday, with its stocks losing 6.17 percent in value.



The BIST 100's most traded stocks were prominent energy company Zorlu Enerji (ZOREN), national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THYAO), private lender Garanti (GARAN), iron and steel producer Kardemir Karabuk (KRDMD), and mining company Koza Madencilik (KOZAA).



The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate stood at 3.5230 by 5 p.m. (1400GMT) Friday, compared with 3.5150 at Thursday's close.



One dollar was traded for 3.5390 Turkish liras last Friday. The exchange rate saw its historic high in mid-January this year climbing to around 3.94 Turkish liras.



On Friday, Borsa Istanbul's Gold Exchange index went up 0.79 percent while the price of gold per kilogram was 146,800 Turkish liras ($41,691) as of 4.30 p.m. (1330GMT), up from 145,750 Turkish liras ($41,380) at Thursday's close.



Last Friday, Aug. 11, the price of gold per kilogram was 147,050 Turkish liras ($41,530), marking a 0.17 percent weekly decline. -