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monetary policy meeting to be held on April 22—meanwhile, the government grasps at external financing straws to keep the USD/TRY below the 7.00 borderline as the FX reserves go south.
The central bank on April 22 cut its benchmark interest rate by 100bp—twice as much as the market consensus anticipated—to 8.75%.
8.3 Stock market
8.3.1 Equity market dynamics
Foreigners sold $11.8bn worth of shares on the Borsa Istanbul in March while their purchases amounted to $10.8bn.
The March trading data shows foreign investors spent most on Aselsan, one of the world’s top 100 defence firms, buying $10.3mn of the company’s shares. Second biggest target for non-Turk stock buyers was conglomerate Sabanci Holding at $10.1mn while third was another conglomerate, Tekfen Holding, at $8.8mn.
At the same time, foreign investors dumped shares in local banks. They sold $80.7mn of Yapi Kredi Bankasi shares, $71.4mn of Garanti BBVA shares and
40 TURKEY Country Report May 2020 www.intellinews.com
