Update - Turkish Lira Hits 2-Month High, Stocks Up At Close

Turkey's benchmark stock index climbed 2.04 percent to close at 98,631.27 points on Monday, while the value of the Turkish lira against the U.S. dollar hit a two-month high.



Starting the week at 97,346.96 points, Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index went up 1,973.85 points from last week's close of 96,657.42 points. For a third consecutive business day, the BIST 100 closed the day in the green, as it rose by 0.32 percent on Thursday and 2.02 percent on Friday.



The BIST 100 saw above 99,000 points -- reaching daily peak at 99,037.88 points in Monday's trading. Compared with the previous close, 86 stocks on the index rose, 12 fell, and two were flat.



The BIST banking index showed the strongest performance among all sectors, rising 4.99 percent, while the BIST metal products machinery index fell the most with a 0.20 percent drop.



Shares of casting producer Cemas Dokum (CEMAS) were the top gainer -- up 12.93 percent, and stocks of automotive manufacturer Ford Otosan (FROTO) saw Monday's worst record, going down 4.25 percent.



The BIST 100's listed companies' trade volume was 9.72 billion liras ($1.67 billion), ending Monday with a total market value of some 645 billion liras ($109.3 billion).



Turkish conglomerate Koc Holding ($7.13 billion), iron and steel producer Eregli Demir Celik ($6.51 billion), and energy giant Tupras ($5.78 billion) were the leading companies by market capitalization.



Private lender Garanti, defense company Aselsan, national flag carrier Turkish Airlines, state-run lender Halkbank, and petrochemicals producer Petkim recorded the highest daily trade volumes.



By market close, the USD/TRY exchange rate fell to 5.7830, down from Friday's closing rate of 5.9320, marking the lira's best showing in two months.



The average U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was 6.04 during the first two weeks of October, 6.38 last month, and 5.74 in August.



The euro/lira rate also showed a steep decline -- standing at 6.7020 versus 6.8510 at the previous close -- and one British pound exchanged for 7.6080 compared to 7.8240 at Friday's close.



One ounce of gold was sold for $1,225.00 at Monday's close in Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets, while the price was $1,221.00 at the previous close.



The price of Brent oil was around $80.58 per barrel as of 6 p.m. local time (1500GMT), hovering between $79.86 and $81.86 during Monday's trading.



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