January 12, 2017•Update: January 13, 2017
By Muhammed Ali Gurtas
ANKARA
Turkey’s benchmark index closed the day with a 3,224.46-point increase to stand at 80,891.04 points on Thursday.
The BIST 100 index advanced 4.2 percent with an excessive total trading volume of 8.1 billion Turkish liras (approximately $2.15 billion), marking a historical record of all times. The preceding trade volume record was 7.4 billion Turkish liras on July 18 last year, on the first trading day after the failed coup attempt.
On the fourth day of the week, the banking sector led the market with a 6.2 percent rise while the holding index increased by 3.8 percent. Among all sector indices, the information technologies index declined the most, with just a 0.16 percent.
The most heavily traded stocks were lenders Garanti Bank, Akbank, Halkbank, Vakifbank, and the country's national flag carrier Turkish Airlines.
Shares of METRO, a leading transportation sector company, saw a 10.59 percent rise -- the highest of the day -- while Eczacibasi shares, heavily involved in personal care and healthcare sectors, suffered the largest decline with a 1.84 percent drop.
The Borsa Istanbul Gold Exchange index increased 1.43 percent in value, with gold trading at 146,060 Turkish liras (around $38,685) per kilogram as of 4.30 p.m. (1330GMT).
The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate decreased steeply to stand at 3.7980 as of 5 p.m. (1400GMT) Thursday, compared to 3.8820 in Wednesday's closing session. The exchange rate has been waving between 3.74 and 3.76 since the markets closed.
"There are strong signs that foreign exchange rates are being manipulated," Turkish customs and trade minister Bulent Tufenkci said Thursday.
"There are especially sharp outflows of some funds operating inside and outside of Turkey. Both the government and the central bank are closely monitoring the moves," Tufenkci added.
The exchange rate hit a historical record of more than 3.90 lira to the U.S. dollar on Wednesday afternoon.
On Thursday, the U.S. dollar dropped against the lira after the Turkish central bank cancelled one-week repo auction which lowered the dollar/lira exchange rate by cutting the amount of lira circulating in Turkish markets.
Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek described the mood surrounding the country’s ongoing currency fluctuations as a “glass-half-empty stance” on Thursday.
"The run on the lira is a glass-half-empty stance. Even with occasional delays, the central bank has acted in the past. It should and will act again," said Simsek.
Meanwhile, a new regulation was published to make changes to the country's citizenship laws to encourage investment. According to the Turkey's Official Gazette, foreigners who generate jobs for 100 people would be able to take Turkish citizenship.
The gazette also said that foreigners who bring fixed capital investments of at least $2 million or own real estate in Turkey worth a minimum $1 million with the special condition of not selling it for at least three years would be able to access Turkish citizenship.
