Market indexes drop as Turkish stocks fall more than 6%
ALBAWABA – Turkish stocks dropped by more than 6 percent on Monday as the presidential elections in Turkey seem to be heading towards a runoff between incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and main rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, news outlets reported.
The Borsa Istanbul 100 index fell 4.2 percent after dropping 6 percent early Monday, according to AP News. Whereas the Turkish lira has fallen under pressure against the rise in the U.S. dollar.
Turkey’s lira has hit a two-month low, as sovereign dollar bonds have tumbled, and the costs of insurance exposure to the country’s debt has risen sharply, The Guardian explained.
News of the close-call elections in Turkey has rattled the market, with Erdogan in the lead.
The lira was at 19.65 to the dollar on Monday morning, its weakest since a record low of 19.80 in March.
On the other hand, Reuters reported that Turkish bank shares also suffered a hard decline, as the main banking index fell by more than 8 percent.
Each of the rivals promises a different approach to Turkey's current economic situation.
Erdogan has consistently pushed policies that were described as "unorthodox" by economists and investors over the past few years, according to Western media outlets. However, Kılıçdaroğlu promises a more familiar, conventional approach to economic policymaking, which is why foreign investors have been rooting for him, agencies claimed.
Meanwhile, the presidential elections in Turkey seem to be running towards a second-round runoff, which is expected to take place in two weeks’ time.
The Turkish Showdown: Elections Runoff
As of 12:45 p.m. (GMT +3), current president Erdogan has failed to secure the number of votes he needs to retain his presidency, new agencies have confirmed.
For a candidate to win in the presidential elections, they would be required to secure 50 percent of the votes, according to effective laws in Turkey.
So far, Erdogan has collected just over 49 percent, with his opponent Kılıçdaroğlu at 44.96 percent, and more than 99 percent of the votes counted, official Turkish news reported.
Erdogan has been in power for some 20 years and insisted in a public address that he has the votes needed to win in the first round of elections.
Early on Monday, both Erdogan and Kılıçdaroğlu said they would accept a runoff, should it come to it.
