Turkish shares ended another turbulent week lower on Friday, with Borsa Istanbul’s benchmark BIST 100 index closing at 11,116.99 points, down 103.38 points or 0.92% on the day, the state news agency Anadolu (AA) reported.
Over the week the index lost 5.16%, according to AA’s weekly review of investment returns. The figure follows a 4.44% fall the previous week, covered in our last weekly market report. On the count published earlier on Friday by the news site Son Dakika, it is the sixth weekly decline in a row, the longest losing run since February 2008.
Sharp intraday drop, partial recovery
Friday’s session was volatile. The index fell as low as 10,707.18 points in the afternoon, about 4.6% below Thursday’s close and its weakest level in roughly 11 months, before recovering some 410 points into the close, the financial site Endeks24 reported. Turnover reached 148.8 billion lira.
The banking index fell 1.58% and the holding index 0.64%, according to AA. Trade was the only notable sector gainer, up 1.01%, while basic metals was the worst performer, down 6.01%. Steelmaker Erdemir (Ereğli Demir ve Çelik) and fertiliser maker Gübre Fabrikaları both fell close to the 10% daily limit, and Zorlu Enerji lost 8.72%, according to Endeks24. Among the few gainers, state lender Halkbank rose 3.46%.
The slide came a day after the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) cut its policy rate by 100 basis points to 36%. Rate cuts usually support equities, but analysts cited by AA pointed to selling pressure in global markets linked to tension in the Middle East and concern over spending on artificial intelligence. At home, sentiment has also been hit by the investment fund crisis, in which the authorities are winding up dozens of funds and have promised staged repayments to investors.
Gold and the lira
Gold, a favourite savings vehicle for many households in Türkiye, also had a poor week. The price of a gram of 24-carat gold fell 4.18% to 6,370 lira, while the quarter gold coin (çeyrek altın) dropped 3.37% to 10,520 lira and the Republic gold coin 3.34% to 41,880 lira, AA said.
The lira was broadly stable. The US dollar rose 0.36% against the lira to 49.7060, and the euro was almost flat, up 0.03% at 55.7790. Investment funds lost 1.90% on average and private pension funds 2.25%, with money market funds the best-performing category at plus 0.62%.
What to watch next week
Analysts quoted by AA said investors will follow Turkish unemployment, foreign trade and economic confidence data next week, as well as the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. They put technical support for the BIST 100 at 11,100 and 11,000 points and resistance at 11,200 and 11,300.
The central bank’s own survey shows market participants expect year-end inflation of 29.63%, still well above the official target. For foreigners holding savings or property in Türkiye, a weaker stock market does not directly change home values, but currency and rate moves do affect purchase costs; our guide to buying property in Türkiye as a foreigner explains the process.
Sources
- Borsa günü düşüşle tamamladı (AA)
- Bu hafta yatırım araçlarının performansı (AA)
- BIST 100 günü 11.117 puandan kapattı, dipten döndü (Endeks24)
- Endişelendiren tablo! Borsada 18 yıl sonra bir ilk yaşanıyor (Son Dakika)
Photo: Behnam Norouzi / Unsplash License, via Unsplash
