Turkish lira firms after Fed rate cut signal

ISTANBUL: Turkey's lira firmed more than 0.8% on Thursday after the Federal Reserve signalled possible interest rate cuts later this year.

The lira stood at 5.7390 to the dollar at 0657 GMT, hitting its firmest level in two weeks, after Wednesday's close of 5.7855.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it was ready to battle growing global and domestic economic risks with interest rate cuts beginning as early as next month, as it decided to hold its rates steady.

Turkey's main BIST 100 index was up 1.13% while banking index was up 2%.