Turkish markets recover after Moody's downgrade shock

ANKARA

Borsa Istanbul rebounded slightly at the open on Tuesday after it sharply fell in wake of an unexpected rate cut from Moody's.

Borsa Istanbul BIST 100 index was up 0.32 percent or 246.6 points to open at 76,972.34 points following a large loss it suffered on Monday due to the rate cut from the international credit rating agency.

The index, which slipped as much as 4.5 percent early Monday, managed to close the day at 76,725.73 points, 3.8 percent lower after recovering some ground.

According to experts, sharp losses in the Turkish markets were not that worrisome since it coincided with losses as much as 2 percent seen in the European markets. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar rate against the Turkish lira retreated to 2.97 levels.

The lira recovered some ground in the early hours of trade as the U.S. dollar versus lira rate was 2.9710 at market open (06.30GMT) compared to 2.98 at the close, down 0.3 percent.