Turkey's Borsa Istanbul down 0.38 pct at close

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA

Turkey's benchmark stock index ended Tuesday down 0.38 percent to close at 98,160.73 points.

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index saw a 376.42-point drop from Monday's close of 98,537.15 points, while it started the day at 98,427.55 points.

During Tuesday's trading, the BIST 100 hovered between 97,373.76 and 98,713.72 points. Compared with the previous close, 28 stocks on the index rose, 66 fell, and six were flat.

Among all sector indices, the BIST basic metal index was the top gainer -- up one percent -- while the BIST transportation index ended the day 2.81 percent down, showing the worst performance on Tuesday.

Shares of Turkish conglomerate Ittifak Holding (ITTFH) climbed the most with a 6.76-percent hike and stocks of energy company Ipek Dogal Enerji (IPEKE) showed the largest decline with a 4.79-percent drop.

The total trade volume of the listed companies on the BIST 100 was 7.48 billion Turkish liras ($1.24 billion) during the day, posting a market value of 645 billion liras ($108 billion).

The daily trade volume leaders were private lender Garanti, national flag carrier Turkish Airlines, defense company Aselsan, telecommunication company Turk Telekom, and another private lender Yapi Kredi.

By market capitalization, Turkish conglomerate Koc Holding was the top company with around $7.16 billion, followed by iron and steel producer Eregli Demir Celik ($6.55 billion) and energy giant Tupras ($5.48 billion).

By market close, the U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate stands at 6.0010, versus Monday's close of 5.9510.

The EUR/TRY rate was 6.9270, compared with 6.9130 at the previous close, and one British pound traded for 7.7990 Turkish liras while the GBP/TRY exchange rate was 7.7850 at Monday's close.

In Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets, one ounce of gold traded for $1,198.00 by market close, up from $1,188.30 at close on Monday.

As of 6 p.m. local time (1500GMT), the price of Brent oil stood at around $84.78 per barrel, hovering between $84.33 and $85.33 during the day.

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