Turkish markets rose on Friday after Erdem Basci was named as the new central bank governor, an appointment analysts saw bringing continuity to monetary policy, and credit agency S&P affirmed Turkey's rating. By 1430 GMT the lira was firmer at 1.5146 against the dollar, after closing at 1.5230 on Thursday. The currency, which stood at 1.5160 in overnight trade, hit its strongest level in four months last week at 1.5020.
The yield on the new February 20, 2013 benchmark bond fell to 8.59 percent at the close of trading after rising to 8.72 percent on Thursday. The Istanbul share index closed up 0.7 percent at 68,450.46 points, outperforming the MSCI's benchmark emerging equities index, which was down 0.2 percent. The appointment of Basci as governor came as little surprise and analysts generally expect it to signify no change in monetary policy.
Ratings agency S&P confirmed Turkey's ratings at two notches below investment grade, and a positive outlook, praising the country's robust growth, strong institutions and efforts to rein in spending. The market was focused on the appointment of the central bank governor. Basci will chair his first monetary policy committee meeting on April 21. Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Turkey's budget deficit widened 2.8 percent on the year to 6.1 billion lira ($4 bln) in March, but the first-quarter gap shrank sharply and budget targets would easily be reached. I In February the budget showed a surplus of 988 million lira.
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