Stock market opens lower (May 23, 2024)

The stock market opened the day with a decline.

At the opening, the BIST 100 index fell by 31.18 points, or 0.29 percent, compared to the previous close, dropping to 10,868.11 points.

The banking and holding indices remained flat. Among sector indices, the communication sector was the top gainer with 0.86 percent, while the chemical sector was the top loser with 2.30 percent.

The BIST 100 index at Borsa Istanbul finished the previous day at 10,899.28 points, showing a flat trend.

Analysts stated that global equity markets followed a mixed course after the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) latest meeting indicated that the policy rate might remain at high levels for longer than expected, despite chipmaker Nvidia announcing record-breaking revenue. They noted that all eyes in the domestic market are now on the interest rate decision of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (TCMB).

ALL EYES ON TCMB'S INTEREST RATE DECISION

While all economists participating in the AA Finance expectation survey expect the TCMB to keep the policy rate steady at 50 percent, the median of the economists' year-end policy rate expectation was calculated at 45 percent.

Meanwhile, Turkey's 5-year credit default swap (CDS) continued its downward trend, falling to 263.1 basis points, its lowest level since February 2020.

Analysts, who stated that in addition to the TCMB's interest rate decision, weekly money and bank statistics domestically, and preliminary Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data globally as well as weekly jobless claims in the US will be monitored, noted that technically, 10,850 and 10,700 points are support levels for the index contract, while 11,000 and 11,200 levels are resistance positions.

News Source: AA