The Turkish stock market plunged 6.2 percent on Friday, September 14, as investors remained jittery over the terrorist attacks in the United States and Washington's promise of retaliation. The national index of the leading 100 shares fell by 527 points to close the day at 7,937 points.
The index had plunged 8.9 percent, or 830 points, to close at 8,465 points on Thursday in the first day of trading since the catastrophe in New York and Washington. "Investors are selling shares in panic in expectation of a US retaliation to the attacks. They do not want to take risks over the weekend," Emin Ozer, the general director of Boomerang Securities told the Anatolia news agency.
Another broker, Emre Tezmen from Bayindir Securities, meanwhile, predicted that the stock market was likely to continue falling as uncertainty still dominated the market. Turkey fears that its southern neighbor Iraq, a sworn enemy of the United States, could be a target in Washington's counter-strike.
The market slump came amid Ankara's efforts to remedy its fragile economy after it was rocked by two severe financial crises in November and February respectively. To contain the February crisis, the government floated the Turkish lira, causing the currency to lose massively against the dollar and disrupting an IMF-backed anti-inflation program.
In May, Ankara began implementing a strict program of economic reforms in return for multi-billion-dollar aid from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. ― (AFP, Ankara)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
