Turkish stocks up 1.83 pct at close

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA

Turkey's benchmark stock index went up 1.83 percent to close at 88,734.76 points with a trading volume of around 7.9 billion Turkish liras (around $1.3 billion) on Friday.

On the last transaction day of the week, Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index ended the day with a 1,591.54-point gain from Thursday's close of 87,143.21 points, while it started the day at 86,602.24 points.

The benchmark index hovered between 84,654.50 points and 88,302.58 points, while 34 stocks on the index were on the rise, 58 stocks fell and eight stocks were flat compared to the previous close.

The total market value of listed shares on the BIST 100 was 568.1 billion ($97.9 billion) at the close, while the banking and holding sector indices climbed 1.81 percent and 2.76 percent, respectively.

Among all sectors, the basic metal industry sector index saw the biggest gain, up 6.12 percent, and the paper wood printing sector index saw the biggest drop, losing 3.04 percent.

Stocks of iron/steel producer Eregli Demir Celik (EREGL) climbed the most, up 8.63 percent, on the other hand, shares of company (HURGZ) suffered the worst, falling 19.42 percent.

The BIST 100's most-traded listed companies were national flag carrier Turkish Airlines, defense company Aselsan, petrochemical company Petkim, private lender Garanti and iron and steel producer Kardemir.

One U.S. dollar traded for 6.1280 Turkish liras as of 5 p.m. local time (1400GMT), up from 5.7190 at Thursday's close.

The euro/ exchange rate was 7.0090 by market close, versus 6.5270 at the previous close, and one British pound traded for 7.8360 Turkish liras, while the GBP/TRY rate was 7.2350 at Thursday's close.

In Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets, one ounce of gold traded for $1,175 as of 4.30 p.m. local time (1330GMT) Friday, flat compared to $1,174.75 at the previous close.

As of 6 p.m. local time (1500GMT), the price of Brent oil stood at $71.88 per barrel -- hovering between $71.24 and $72.48 during the day -- climbing from around $66 at the beginning of 2018.