Istanbul Stock Exchange hits highest point in 1.5 years after OPEC decision

ISTANBUL

The Istanbul Stock Exchange hit its highest point in one and a half years on Nov. 28, approaching 85,000 points in the wake of OPEC’s decision to refrain from cutting output despite a huge oversupply.

Turkey’s main stock exchange index increased to 84.885 in the opening session on Nov. 28, thus hitting the highest point since May 2013.

The tumbling price of oil hammered shares in oil and gas companies a day after OPEC left its output target unchanged, diminishing hope of any imminent respite for the ailing commodity.
Turkey, a major oil importer, has been boosted by the OPEC decision.

“OPEC’s decision will cause a further decrease in oil prices. As global economic growth has been slowing down, oil demand has been declining. This is good for countries suffering from a high account deficit, including Turkey,” said Beste Naz Süllü, an analyst at Integral Menkul Değerler, in a written statement.