Turkey Plans to Resume Stock Trading

Turkish authorities have decided to resume trading at Borsa Istanbul on February 16, 2022. The decision was made after a meeting led by Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati with the central bank, capital markets board, the banking watchdog, and heads of state-run commercial lenders on Monday.

The officials discussed various measures, including tax waivers on share buybacks, that could help boost Turkish equities when trading resumes.

The authorities were considering extending the trade halt ahead of the meeting, but have now decided not to announce an extension and to allow trading to resume as originally intended. The bourse suspended trading last Wednesday and canceled trades made that day after two earthquakes on Feb. 6 devastated 10 cities, marking the worst natural disaster in modern Turkish history.

The benchmark Borsa Istanbul 100 Index had already been the worst-performing equity market in the world this year before the earthquakes. After the natural disasters, it erased tens of billions of dollars in market value over the two days it stayed open last week. The resumption of trading will be welcomed by investors who hope for a rebound in the market.