Turkish shares open higher after profit-taking Friday

ANKARA

Turkish stocks opened higher on Monday following profit-taking on Friday.

Borsa Istanbul's BIST-100, the country’s benchmark index, was up 0.63 percent (490.75 points) to reach 78,719,30 at the opening of the daily session Monday, after losing 1 percent on Friday at 78,229 following intra-day profit takings, despite having started Friday on a positive note in parallel with global equity markets.

Banking stocks web up 0.62 percent at the opening on Monday morning, with the tourism index up 1.20 percent

The Turkish lira was slightly higher than the previous day's close. The lira fell to 2.958 against the dollar after gaining 0.13 percent Friday. The lira also appreciated by 0.13 percent against the basket composed of $0.50 and €0.50 Friday.

The local fixed-income markets were relatively flat. The two-year benchmark bond was traded at 9.10 percent, 8 base points below its previous close.

On Monday morning, the benchmark 10-year government bond yield remained at 9.41 percent without change.

Global oil prices started with a slight rise on Monday due to speculation that oil producers will support prices in the current oversupplied market.

The international benchmark Brent oil price traded at $47.30 at 05:31 GMT per barrel on Monday, a slight rise over Friday.

On Friday, Brent jumped to as high as $46.65 and settled at $46.15, 0.24 percent higher than the previous day.

The U.S. WTI was around $44.87 at 05:31 GMT per barrel on Monday, having surged to its highest level of $44.16 on Friday.

Turkey’s unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage point in May year-on-year, the Turkish Statistical Institute said in a statement Monday.

The number of unemployed persons aged 15 years and over rose to 2.89 million in May 2016, up 106,000 from the previous year, while the unemployment rate stood at 9.4 percent, the statement said.

Unemployment also saw a 0.1 percentage point increase from April 2016, according to the report.

Meanwhile, under a new bill, the renewal of all commercial vehicles by June 2019 – i.e., taxis, mini- and midi-buses, shuttles, and buses used for public transport, totaling some 905,000 vehicles – will be exempt from the Special Consumption Tax, known by its Turkish initials OTV. Vehicle manufacturers are expected to benefit from this.