Turkish shares flat at close

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA

Turkey’s benchmark stock index closed Wednesday flat with just a 0.05 percent decline to stand at 106,861.99 points, with a trading volume of 6.9 billion Turkish liras ($1.95 billion).

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index fell by 51.27 points at close, down from 106,913.26 points at Tuesday's close.

During the trading hours on Tuesday, Aug. 15, the BIST 100 reached its highest level of all time, at 110,232.52 points.

Since the beginning of the year, the benchmark index has risen nearly 37.5 percent, and posted its highest close at 109,781.13 points on Aug. 7.

On the third trading day of the week, the BIST banking index rose 0.12 percent while the holding sector was down by 0.41 percent.

Among all sectors, the BIST mining index was the best performer with a 3.70 percent hike, and the textile leather sector index fell 1.70 percent, the worst performance on Wednesday.

Shares of investment trust Global Yatirim Holding (GLYHO) gained the most on Wednesday -- up 4.94 percent -- while shares of Tesco Kipa (KIPA), which operates supermarkets in major Turkish cities, saw the biggest drop, falling 5.75 percent.

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

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate decreased to 3.5260 by 5 p.m. (1400GMT) Wednesday, compared with 3.5420 at Tueday'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.

Meanwhile, Borsa Istanbul's Gold Exchange index went up by 0.16 percent on Wednesday.

The price of gold per kilogram was 144,250 Turkish liras ($40,892) as of 4.30 p.m. (1330GMT), down from 144,400 Turkish liras ($40,896) at Tuesday's close.

Last Friday, Aug. 11, the price of gold per kilogram was 147,050 Turkish liras ($41,530).