Borsa Istanbul broke another all-time record yesterday, hitting 119,265 points after the public offering of the Trabzon Port. On the fifth day of Turkey's Operation Olive Branch in northwestern Syria's Afrin to eliminate the threats of the PKK terrorist organization's Syrian affiliate the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed branch, the People's Protection Units (YPG), the Turkish stock exchange and currency markets sustained their resilience against any shocks as national and international experts previously forecast. On a number of platforms, both ministers and experts underscored that the Afrin operation's impact on the domestic markets will be contained.
Already breaking a record on Tuesday at 118,955 points, the benchmark index of the Borsa Istanbul, BIST 100, saw new highs at 119,265 points while it started the year at 115,734 points. Seeing the launch of another initial public offering with the Trabzon Port, the first initial public offering (IPO) of the year, which will be followed by a series of others, the Borsa Istanbul was supported by the stocks of the Trabzon Port. Each stock was sold at TL 15.50 ($4) and later traded at TL 18.6.
Moreover, the dollar continued to tumble against the Turkish lira yesterday. It started trading against the Turkish lira at 3.77 and later fell to 3.75 around noon. The spiking Turkish lira was supported by the slip of the dollar on international currency markets and the depreciating dollar index, which fell to the three-year low since December 2014. It fell below the 90.00 threshold at 89.741.
Analysts emphasize that the rally in the global stock markets, the weakening dollar index and the waning risks that might be ensued from Operation Olive Branch increase the interest in Turkish lira-denominated assets and the Turkish lira.
AFRIN OPERATION SUCCESS TO AVERT TURKISH ECONOMY RISKS
Accomplishments in Turkey's ongoing Operation Olive Branch in Syria's Afrin region will avert possible risks to Turkey's economy, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal said yesterday.
Speaking at the Anadolu Agency (AA) Editors' Desk in the capital Ankara, Ağbal said: "The operation will positively affect expectations for Turkey's economy in 2018."
Highlighting that instabilities and geopolitical strains in Syria have impacted Turkey's economy, Ağbal said Turkey is carrying out the ongoing operation with determination and its accomplishments will go on to eliminate risks to the economy. He also said the market remains calm as the operation is proceeding as expected.
"The market is calm, again this was expected from the operation. Developments on the stock exchange, foreign exchange, and financial markets indicate stability," Ağbal said.
Speaking to Bloomberg HT television yesterday during his visit to Davos, Switzerland, to participate in the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the economy Mehmet Şimşek said he sees a limited impact of the ongoing military Operation Olive Branch on the economy.
Stressing the importance of the operation, which he said reveals the strength and power of Turkey, Şimşek emphasized that the country's financial area was also very strong.
Şimşek said Turkey's ongoing military operation was not on the agenda during his meetings in Davos.
