Referndum victory pushes bourse to new records

After a recess of four and half days due to the Ramadan Holiday, the Turkish markets resumed with the excitement of a clear victory for "yes" votes in the latest referendum on a set of amendments meant to democratically redesign the Constitution. The benchmark index of the Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB-100) started the daily trade by jumping directly to a record level of 61,905.08 points, rising 1,297 points, or 2.14 percent, over the close of the last trading day. At the end of morning session, the index stood at 61,831.04 points, rising 2.02 percent. Within the session, the index value hit as high as 62,164.02 points, a level that has never been reached in the history of the Istanbul bourse. The money market also enjoyed its share of the euphoria as the dollar was being traded for TL 1.48, down from TL 1.515 last Wednesday. Meanwhile, the compounded interest rate of the benchmark Treasury bill dropped to 8.01 percent from 8.08 percent. The results of the referendum will be perceived by the markets as a vote of confidence for the government and an indication of the continuation of current economic policies, analysts argue. There will be less political ambiguity in the upcoming days and, thus, the chances are higher that the market will keep with the upward trend.