Turkish shares fell sharply for a second day on Thursday, with the benchmark BIST 100 index losing more than 3% on the same day the central bank delivered its first interest rate cut since January.
The BIST 100 closed at 11,220.37 points, down 3.08% or 356.75 points, according to closing data reported by CNN Türk. Every sector index ended the day lower. Banks fell 3.62% and holding companies 3.42%, while mining stocks were the worst performers, down 7.52%.
The drop followed a 1.87% fall on Wednesday, when the index closed at 11,577.12 points, Anadolu Agency reported. Taken together, the two sessions wiped out close to 5% of the index’s value. Last week the market had already posted a weekly loss of 4.44%, as we reported in our coverage of the BIST 100’s weekly slide.
Rate cut fails to lift sentiment
Earlier on Thursday the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) lowered its one-week repo rate, the main policy rate, by 100 basis points to 36% from 37%. The move matched the 100-basis-point cut economists had expected in an AA Finans survey. In its statement the bank said the size and timing of further steps would be focused on the inflation outlook, decided meeting by meeting and prudent.
Rate cuts usually support shares by making borrowing cheaper, but investors appeared focused on other risks. Central bank governor Fatih Karahan has repeatedly signalled that policy will stay tight, as he did in recent remarks in Bangkok.
Foreign investors have also been net sellers. Central bank data published on Thursday showed foreigners sold a net 88.8 million dollars of Turkish shares in the week to 16 October, after net sales of 248.2 million dollars a week earlier, Bloomberg HT reported. It was the third straight week of foreign selling. Foreigners were also net sellers of government bonds, at 60 million dollars, after buying 446 million dollars the previous week.
The domestic market is still absorbing the investment fund crisis, in which dozens of funds were placed into liquidation. See our report on Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek’s plan for fund investors.
Gold and silver slide
Precious metals also lost ground. Spot gold fell more than 2% to around 4,058 dollars an ounce in the afternoon, slipping below the 4,100-dollar level analysts see as technical support, Anadolu Agency reported. Silver dropped more than 4% to about 55 dollars an ounce. Analysts linked the fall to rising energy costs feeding inflation worries and expectations that the US Federal Reserve will keep rates high for longer, which reduces demand for gold because it pays no interest.
Gold is a popular savings tool for Turkish households. Market data on Bloomberg HT showed gram gold down about 1.3% at around 6,514 lira in evening trading, with the dollar at about 49.6 lira.
What it means for foreign investors
For foreigners holding Turkish shares or lira assets, the week has brought losses in both share prices and gold, while the lira moved little against the dollar. Analysts had named 11,500 and 11,400 points as support levels before Thursday’s session; the index closed well below both. For a wider view of prices and household costs, see our cost of living in Turkey 2026 guide.
Sources
- SON DAKİKA | Borsa perşembe gününü düşüşle tamamladı (CNN Türk)
- Borsa günü düşüşle tamamladı (Habertürk/AA)
- Altın ve gümüş fiyatları çakıldı! Gözler Fed’de (Bigpara/AA)
- Yabancı yatırımcı hissede satışı 3. haftaya taşıdı (Bloomberg HT)
- TCMB’de Ocak’tan bu yana ilk faiz indirimi (Bloomberg HT)
Photo: Adam Śmigielski / Unsplash License, via Unsplash
