ISTANBUL: Turkey's lira held steady on Monday supported by buoyant global markets, and bond yields fell as investors geared up for an expected rate cut by the central bank on Thursday.
European and Asian shares rose as euro zone banking jitters faded, but investors looked forward to corporate earnings and a raft of global economic events including testimony from the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The lira was steady at 2.1205 against the dollar by 0832 GMT, unchanged from 2.1205 late on Friday.
The benchmark 10-year government bond yield fell to 8.99 percent from 9.10 percent on Friday. The two-year yield slipped to 8.25 percent from 8.28 at Friday's close.
After a huge rate hike at the end of January, the central bank has been under government pressure to cut rates to protect growth. It has done so in the past two months and on Thursday economists expect another 50 basis-point cut to 8.25 percent as inflation falls and the global economy improves, a Reuters poll found.
But some analysts said such a move would be unwise.
"We maintain our view that the inflation outlook does not justify any rate cut," said Finansbank economist Deniz Cicek.
"Easing monetary policy in this situation will not only hinder disinflation, but also undermine the lira in the event of an adverse shock."
A central bank survey last week showed no big improvement in inflation expectations, economists said.
The main Istanbul share index was up 0.58 percent at 79,821.55, slightly outperforming the MSCI index of emerging markets, which rose 0.23 percent.
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