STORY: Turkish financial market wavers amid concerns over Israel-Gaza conflict: analyst
DATELINE: Oct. 10, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:24
LOCATION: ISTANBUL, Türkiye
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Istanbul
2. Soundbite 1 (Turkish): MURAT TUFAN, Analyst with the Ekoturk broadcaster
3. various of Türkiye's central bank
4. Soundbite 2 (Turkish): MURAT TUFAN, Analyst with the Ekoturk broadcaster

STORYLINE:

The Turkish financial market on Monday experienced turbulence, with exchange rates fluctuating and the stock market falling, amid concern and caution over the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, said an analyst.

The Turkish currency lost 0.43 percent of its value on the morning trading against the U.S. dollar, standing at 27.7 Turkish liras per dollar at 11:00 a.m. local time (0800 GMT).

At the opening of the Istanbul Stock Exchange, Türkiye's benchmark BIST-100 Index dropped to 8,300.69 points, with a decline of 1.94 percent compared to the previous closure.

The banking index decreased by 2.08 percent, according to the Dunya Daily, an online economy news portal. It noted that the most significant fall was registered in the securities investment trusts, which fell by slightly over 4 percent.

Murat Tufan, an analyst with the Ekoturk broadcaster, said the markets are already very fragile in Türkiye due to rising inflation and the depreciation of the lira, and the situation has become even more delicate, weighed down by the latest Israel-Gaza conflict.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): MURAT TUFAN, Analyst with the Ekoturk broadcaster
"The markets are caught unprepared. As a result, Turkish stock markets experienced more than 2 percent sales during the day, and the dollar went up."

According to Tufan, oil prices, "which are already high," could rise by between 5 and 10 percent as the conflict could prolong in the coming days and inject more caution into the financial market, thus further burdening Türkiye.

Soundbite 2 (Turkish): MURAT TUFAN, Analyst with the Ekoturk broadcaster
"This (the rise in oil prices) will cause difficulties for the world's central banks and Türkiye in particular. For the countries using dollar reserves, especially with the U.S. interest rate hike, their borrowing costs will increase further, and this will make the Turkish stock markets more sensitive against inflation."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Istanbul, Türkiye.
(XHTV)