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İMKB shatters all-time record as Turkish economy flourishes
The İMKB-100 benchmark index reached 58,377 points at the end of the first session of trading yesterday, just shy of the first session record of 58,522 set on Nov 1, 2007. Yesterday also saw the highest peak of the stock exchange's history at 58,896 within the secondsession of trading. The highest value the index ever reached before yesterday's performance was 58,864, on Oct. 15, 2007.
The index had risen by 0.55 percent by the end of the first session of trading after beginning the day at 58,059, rising by more than 300 points in the span of a session to hit the record for a first session closing for the year. The index has been rising since its lowest value for 2010 of 48,739, on Feb 25. Since then, the index has risen more than 19 percent -- an impressive rise in the span of a month.
The effect of the global financial crisis on Turkey's capital markets has been well shaken off, and the İMKB is increasingly showing its strength. It looks as though it will break its historic records within the week.
The increase is driven by the healthy economic indicators that were announced last week, showing that Turkey's economy grew by 6 percent in the last quarter of a difficult 2009 -- well above expectations. In addition, export data showed a growth of 34 percent in March.
The US Labor Department reporting on Friday that US employers had added 162,000 jobs in March, below economists' expectations of 190,000 jobs but still the largest increase since March 2007 -- a three-year milestone for this vital figure. The US unemployment rate remained at 9.7 percent for the third month in a row. The TL-dollar rate stayed mostly stable at TL 1.5160 yesterday.
Moreover, the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes rose to 3.94 percent from 3.87 percent late Thursday, its highest level since last June and the latest sign of confidence that the US economy is recovering. “The bond market seems to have taken it as a very positive number,” said Andrew Neale, head of portfolio management at Fogel Neale Partners in New York.
Asian stock markets were mostly higher Monday after the encouraging US jobs report offered the latest sign the global economy is on the mend. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average rose 0.5 percent to 11,339.30, Singapore's benchmark index also increased 0.5 percent, Indonesia jumped 1.7 percent and India gained 0.8 percent.
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