Turkish stocks and lira gained modestly on Friday in trade thinned by the Christmas holiday in many foreign markets. The lira ended at 1.5100 against the dollar from the previous day's 1.5125. The yield on the benchmark August 3, 2011 bond rose slightly to 9.56 percent from the previous day's 9.54 percent. The yield fell to its historic low on October 6 at 7.59 percent.
The main share index edged up 0.39 percent at 51,661.34 points, outperforming the MSCI index of emerging market stocks which traded 0.05 percent higher. The stock exchange traded on a very narrow band on 51,000-51,500 points due to Christmas holiday in foreign markets.
"Local investors are hesitant in general on a day when foreigners are absent," said Ata Investment fixed-income fund manager Cem Tozge. "The stock exchange may be quiet next week, except for efforts to close the year at 2009's highest level as it is in all world bourses. I expect this year's closing level on a 51,500-52,000 points range under normal conditions," Tozge said.
The index hit its highest intra-day level on October 23 at 51,863 points. The index has rallied 90 percent this year, covering last year's losses. The media company Dogan Yayin Holding, embroiled in a tax row with the government, lost 1.65 percent after it applied to the Capital Markets Board for raising its capital to 1 billion lira from 802 million.