Istanbul stocks plunge on simmering tensions

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

Istanbul Stock Exchange’s benchmark IMKB-100 index closed yesterday at 26,210 points, a daily decline of more than 6 percent. The index’s loss in two days stood at 8.7 percent. The U.S. dollar was trading at 1.574 Turkish Liras at 5:11 p.m., representing a daily increase of 0.2 percent.

The decline in stock values was mainly attributed to heightened tensions between the government, the judiciary and the military, over the latest wave of "Ergenekon" detentions.

Meanwhile, IMF experts started a visit to Turkey yesterday after the government on Dec. 25 cut its 2009 spending plans by 3.1 billion liras ($2 billion). The country aims to secure a loan to cover its external financing needs.