Borsa Istanbul and Nasdaq OMX ties strategic partnership

ISTANBUL - Reuters

Nasdaq OMX Group and Borsa Istanbul have signed a partnership deal under which the U.S.-based financial services company will provide exchange technology to the Turkish bourse. DHA photo

Nasdaq OMX Group and Borsa Istanbul have signed a partnership deal under which the U.S.-based financial services company will provide exchange technology to the Turkish bourse, which is aiming to make Istanbul a regional financial hub.

Borsa Istanbul will integrate and operate Nasdaq OMX’s market technologies for trading, clearing, market surveillance and risk management, covering all asset classes including energy contracts, Nasdaq said in a statement on Wednesday.

The deal aims to expand the Istanbul exchange’s global presence, while strengthening its position as a regional hub for capital markets, it said.

“Our objective is to position Borsa Istanbul as a leading integrated multi-asset exchange, and to provide a cutting-edge platform serving issuers, investors and traders globally,” Borsa Istanbul Chairman Ibrahim Turhan said in the statement.

Turhan said the partnership with Nasdaq OMX includes a technology transfer and an operating union to capitalise together on commercial opportunities in Eurasia.

Turkey merged the Istanbul Stock Exchange, Gold Exchange and Derivatives Exchange into Borsa Istanbul this year ahead of a planned privatisation as it seeks to attract growing trade from the world’s leading investment banks and brokers.

State-owned Borsa Istanbul will be ready to list its shares in early 2016, Turhan told Reuters in June.

Stocks fall, dollar soars on global worries

Markets have begun the day with reacting to uncertainty over the political situation in Egypt which could disrupt oil supplies buoyed Brent crude and push the prices up.

The dollar saw over 1.95 Turkish Liras while the losses in the Turkey’s main stock exchange, Borsa Istanbul (BIST), have surpassed 2 percent.

The dollar, which has been already on a slump since May after U.S. Federal Reserve signaled to gradually end its bond-buying program, got a move with unrest fears for Egypt.

Ratio of U.S. dollar to lira opened the day at 1.9355 with a rise from last night’s 1.9278. However, the currency embarked on a upward trend after the opening and heightened up to 1.9549 liras.

Meanwhile, Istanbul’s main share index fell 2.12 percent to 74,821 points.

The index, which started off the day with losses as European and Asian markets hit by the Fed worries and weak Chinese service sector data, slide faster after the announcement of Turkey’s June inflation which came far over the expectations.

Consumer prices index (CPI) rose by 0.76 percent and lifting annual inflation to 8.3 percent in consumer prices index, Turkish statistical Institute said today. The market was expecting the rise to be around 0.10 percent and the annual inflation to remain below 8 percent.

BIST-100 index closed yesterday with 0.39 percent loss at 76, 438 points.