Turkish stocks hit 2-year high as investors eye central bank meeting

Turkey's benchmark stock index hit its highest level in two years, reaching 120,899 points in the afternoon hours of the first trading day of the week as investors await the country's central bank's interest rate decision on Thursday.

In the first half of the trading day, Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index recorded daily trading of TL 7.6 billion and a 1,847.32 points increase compared to the Friday's close.

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate dropped to 5.8582 and reached its highest at 5.8797 during the day, while the Turkish lira briefly rose to 6.5432 against the euro.

Earlier in the day, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) reported a deficit of $518 million in November 2019 in Turkey's current account balance. The balance posted a $1 billion surplus in the same month of 2018.

Turkish investors have now turned their attention to the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee meeting scheduled for Thursday. Economists are expecting the bank to maintain its cautious monetary stance to keep the disinflation process on track.

Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak also said Monday on his Twitter account that Turkey's credit default swaps (CDS) dropped to 20-month level of 267 points.

Meanwhile, markets around the world moved higher as well after concern over a potential U.S.-Iranian conflict decreased and Libya's warring parties moved closer to agree on a cease-fire. Investors also became optimistic ahead of the signing of the Phase One trade deal between China and the United States.

London's FTSE 100 opened 0.6% higher at 7,630.79 and Frankfurt's DAX gained just under 0.1% to 13,494.39. France's CAC 40 added 0.3% to 6,057.14.

On Wall Street, futures for the benchmark S&P 500 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.4%.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.7% to 3,115.57, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.1% to 28,954.94. Seoul's Kospi advanced 1% to 2,229.26.