Turkish stocks plunge 7%, triggering circuit breaker twice

Istanbul stock exchange continued its decline at Friday’s opening, as losses on the benchmark BIST 100 index reached 7%, dropping to 9,123.66 points and triggering two circuit breakers, temporarily halting all trading twice.

According to a statement from Borsa Istanbul management submitted to the Turkish Public Disclosure Platform, all transactions were halted at 10:52 a.m. local time (GMT+3) for half an hour after losses deepened by 5.02% to 9,321.28 points.

By 11:22 a.m., trading resumed, but losses extended to 7%, dropping to 9,123.65 and triggering another halt at 11:27 a.m.

Thus, weekly losses in shares exceeded 15%, falling to their lowest levels since November 2024. The banking index led the steep decline, opening the day with a 0.92% loss before extending its drop to over 9%. By midday, it was down 8.15%, trading at 12,556 points.

On Borsa Istanbul, the Index-Based Circuit Breaker System is triggered when there are sudden losses of 5% and 7% in the index and is used to minimize investor losses caused by panic-driven trading.

BIST 100 opened the session at 9,758.53 points, down 52.41 points or 0.53% from the previous close.

On Thursday, Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 index fell 0.50%, following a selling trend, closing at 9,810.94 points with a daily trading volume of ₺228.1 billion ($6 billion).

As of 11:45 a.m. local time (8:45 a.m. GMT), the U.S. dollar/Turkish lira (USD/TRY) exchange rate stood at 38.0026, the euro/lira (EUR/TRY) at 41.1553, and the British pound/lira (GBP/TRY) at 49.1326.

Share buyback program launched to ease selling pressure

On Wednesday, amid escalating political tensions in Türkiye, the BIST 100 closed the session with an 8.72% loss, falling below the 10,000 mark to 9,860.29.

Following the sharp decline, The Turkish Capital Markets Board (SPK) announced new measures to ensure the orderly functioning of the markets. Under these regulations, publicly traded companies and their subsidiaries are now allowed to initiate share buyback programs through a board of directors’ decision—without requiring approval from a general assembly— until further notice, provided that the decision is presented to shareholders at the next general meeting.

Additionally, shares repurchased under this program cannot be sold for 30 days from the date of purchase. The “first in, first out” (FIFO) method—where the oldest acquired assets or stocks are sold or used first—will be applied during the sale process, and shares can be disposed of within a maximum of three years.

A share buyback program allows companies to repurchase their own shares from the market, often to support stock prices, boost investor confidence, or reduce excess supply.

Currently, over 25 companies, including flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THYAO), consumer goods retailer BIM (BIMAS), and state-owned lender Halkbank (HALKB), have launched share buyback programs with varying amounts.