Turkish lira hits 4-month high against US dollar

The Turkish lira hit a 4-month high against the U.S. dollar on Thursday as Turkey's benchmark stock index surged 1.12 percent to close at 95,125.57 points.

On Thursday, the Turkish lira continued its upward against the U.S. dollar. By market close, the USD/TRY fell to 5.1620, versus 5.2610 at the previous close.

The exchange rate was around 5.15 on Aug. 6, while it saw its historic high at over 7.00 on Aug. 13.

The euro/lira exchange rate stood at 5.8830, down from Wednesday's close of 5.9360.

The British pound/Turkish lira rate also saw a steep decline, falling to 6.6050 compared with 6.7270 at close on Wednesday.

Starting the day at 94,963.22 points, Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index climbed 1,054.61 points from Wednesday's close.

The BIST 100 peaked at 95,544.59 points while its daily low was 94,827.33 points on Thursday.

The benchmark index closed the day with a total market value of 618.6 billion TL ($117.8 billion) and a daily trading volume of 6.47 billion TL ($1.25 billion).

Highest trade volumes were recorded by private lender Garanti Bankası, national flag carrier Turkish Airlines, and defense company Aselsan.

The leading listed companies by market value were Turkish conglomerate Koç Holding ($7.39 billion), Garanti Bankası ($6.48 billion), and energy giant Tüpraş ($6 billion).

As of daily close, 62 stocks on the index rose, 28 fell, and 10 were flat compared to the previous close.

Stocks of casting producer Çemaş Döküm were the top gainers, rising 18.97 percent, while shares of energy and construction company Işıklar Enerji Yapı Holding posted the biggest drop, going down 2.86 percent.

One ounce of gold was sold for $1,227.90 at daily close, as the price was $1,215.00 at the previous close of Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets.

The price of Brent oil was around $59.71 per barrel as of 6 p.m. local time (1500GMT) Thursday, hovering between $57.78 and $60.23 during the day.