Turkey's benchmark stock index hits 120,000 points

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA

Turkey's benchmark stock index has continued its upward trend during the afternoon session on Thursday, climbing over 120,000 points for the first time.

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index saw 120,320.47 points as of 3.10 p.m. local time (1210GMT), while the U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate hovered below 3.75.

On Thursday morning, the BIST 100 opened at 119,677.05 points, following its highest-ever close of 119,648.37 points Wednesday.

The index closed last year at 115,333.01 points on Dec. 29, 2017, and recorded a 48.3 percent annual rise compared with a close of 77,754.46 points on Jan. 2, 2017.

Since the beginning of this year, the BIST 100 has risen over 2 percent, compared with 117,524.20 points on Jan. 2, 2018.