Global markets focus on central bank interest rate decisions

Global equity markets closed the week negatively due to geopolitical risks in the Middle East, uncertainties regarding artificial intelligence investments, and mixed earnings results. While investors focus on the monetary policy decisions of the US, European, and Japanese central banks next week, the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) lowered the policy rate by 100 basis points to 36 percent.

Global stock markets saw a total market value loss of over 1 trillion dollars due to selling pressure on technology stocks. In the US, 10-year bond yields finished the week at the 5 percent level, while the barrel price of Brent crude approached 117 dollars. The ounce price of gold fell by 4.1 percent on a weekly basis to 3,995 dollars.

Domestically, the BIST 100 index closed the week down 5.16 percent at 11,116.99 points. The CBRT cut the policy rate to 36 percent for the first time since January, while lowering the overnight lending rate to 39 percent and the borrowing rate to 34.5 percent. The USD/TRY exchange rate finished the week at 49.6940.

In European markets, an increase in bond yields was observed due to the impact of street protests in France on public finances. France's 10-year bond yield reached 5.07 percent, the highest level since 2002. Next week, the European Central Bank's (ECB) interest rate decision and earnings reports across the region will be monitored.