Defense firm gains on stock exchange

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Aselsan is Turkey’s leading defense technology firm, providing systems for various products. It is also the producer of electronic systems used in Turkish howitzers. AA photo

With markets becoming concerned over fresh Turkey-Syria tensions, one company, the local defense technologies firm Aselsan, saw gains for two days running on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (İMKB) before seeing a balance in afternoon trading yesterday.

Aselsan, which began climbing on the afternoon of Oct. 3 after a Syrian bomb hit the Turkish border town of Akçakale, rose to 7.16 Turkish Liras per share yesterday at noon, some 6 percent above its closing level a day earlier. However, it closed the day at 6.66 liras, which was the opening value of yesterday’s trading. Aselsan stock saw the most transactions on the exchange yesterday, with nearly 8,000 moves.
Aselsan is also the maker of the electronic systems for Turkish howitzers, which were used in Turkey’s recent response attack on Syria.

Aselsan’s shares have been gaining since the beginning of the year, particularly at times when clashes in the east and southeast escalate. The company has gained more than 85 percent since the beginning of this year, reaching a market value of 3.5 billion liras.

İMKB not affected

The İMKB’s benchmark 100 index, meanwhile, gained a moderate 0.13 percent yesterday, and the Turkish Lira fell slightly against the dollar and the euro.

Brent crude oil rose above $109 per barrel yesterday, as escalating tensions between Syria and Turkey raised more concerns over the security of oil supplies from the Middle East. U.S. light crude oil for November rose 70 cents to $88.84 a barrel, after dropping to its lowest price since Aug. 3 in the previous session.