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Turkish stocks shed another ₺527.6 billion ($10.6 billion) during Friday’s session, while the benchmark BIST 100 fell by as much as 4% as the fallout from September’s fund turmoil drove selling pressure across sectors.
As of 3:36 p.m. local time (GMT+3), the total market capitalization of 581 stocks had fallen 3.6% to ₺14.3 trillion, representing a ₺6 trillion ($120.7 billion) loss from around ₺20.3 trillion on Sept. 15.
Liquidity problems at some investment funds came to the fore in mid-September, prompting the Capital Markets Board (SPK) to order the liquidation of 131 funds holding ₺936.3 billion ($19.1 billion) in assets and affecting more than 455,000 investors.
The turmoil put Turkish equities under heavy selling pressure, with BIST 100 entering the bear market after losses exceeding 20% in a month.
All sectoral indices traded in negative territory except one on Friday, while circuit breakers were triggered in 365 shares. The telecommunications index recorded the steepest decline among the listed sector indices, falling 8.1%. Basic metals dropped 7.3%, followed by leasing and factoring at 6.6%.
The banking index fell 5.6%, while the broader financials index declined 4.7%. Retail trade was among the more resilient sectors, dropping 1.5%. Wholesale trade also fell, edging down 0.1%.
Only two shares in the benchmark BIST 100 index traded higher, while 98 fell. Tekfen Holding led the gainers, rising 0.3%, followed by Tupras, up 0.1%.
Among Zorlu Holding companies, Vestel Elektronik fell 10%, while Zorlu Enerji lost 9.4%, as debt concerns mount across the group. Zorlu Enerji announced Thursday that it is seeking to defer a $60.5 million bond interest payment until April 2027, days after Vestel unveiled a plan to restructure its $500 million bond debt.
Türkiye Sigorta lost 8.6% after its former general manager, Taha Cakmak, was detained again on Friday as part of the investigation into suspected irregularities in investment funds.
The sell-off comes a day after parliament passed legislation establishing a framework to repay investors whose money remains trapped in funds ordered into liquidation in September.
The law allows eligible investors to receive interim payments of up to ₺1 million ($20,100), prioritizing smaller investors and accounting for inflation. However, it does not guarantee full compensation, leaving investors with larger holdings uncertain about their eventual recovery.
Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Tuesday that about 390,000 investor accounts would receive repayments. The legislation also seeks to recover assets allegedly removed unlawfully from funds and reclaim excess gains from investors who benefited from suspected market manipulation.
The law also covers investors whose sell orders remained unsettled after affected funds failed to meet redemption requests. Orders submitted through Türkiye’s Electronic Fund Trading Platform (TEFAS) by Sept. 17 but left incomplete because of redemption defaults or missing fund prices will be included in the liquidation process.
Completed transactions remain unaffected, while outstanding claims will be assessed against proceeds recovered from fund assets.
The turmoil has also weakened investor appetite for Türkiye’s private-sector bond market, Simsek acknowledged. The market has about ₺1 trillion in outstanding bonds, including ₺26.5 billion maturing by year-end.
The government is considering a lending framework through the Credit Guarantee Fund (KGF), but Simsek said it would rely on the fund’s own resources, without Treasury funding or government guarantees.
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