Day: September 10, 2021

The CEO of Borsa Istanbul, Korkmaz Ergun, has been elected to the board of the prestigious World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the Turkish stock exchange announced Friday.

“As a member of the WFE since 1992, Borsa Istanbul has made great strides in strengthening its international visibility while having a say in the management of the Federation, with the election of CEO Korkmaz Ergun as a member of the Board of Directors at the General Assembly” this Thursday, said a Borsa Istanbul statement.

Other board members are exchanges from the US (Nasdaq, Chicago Commodity Exchange, Chicago Options Exchange), Singapore, Switzerland, Brazil, Bermuda, Hong Kong, India, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, South Korea, Japan, Germany, South Africa, and China.

Commenting on the election, Ergun said: “We will strengthen our communication channels with international investors through new initiatives.”

Ergun stressed that Turkey’s stock exchange aims to provide international investors with accurate information, showing that they can get support from Borsa Istanbul whenever they need, and to engage in constructive long-term dialogue to solve issues and encourage further investments.

“Our membership on the Board of the World Federation of Exchanges, along with seventeen leading exchanges from all continents, will serve as a bridge to contribute towards the solution of the global problems of the industry, connect with international counterparts, and promote our international visibility,” he added.

The WFE, the leading global industry group for exchanges and clearing houses (CCPs) around the world, represents over 250 market infrastructures.

Founded in 1961 and operating in London, the Federation aims to contribute to the promotion of fair and transparent organized markets and building trust in capital markets to reinforce systemic stability in line with the needs of the capital market stakeholders and the interests of their related institutions by cooperating with regulatory institutions.

Anadolu Agency

US technology firm Apple on Friday won an antitrust lawsuit that was filed by American software developer Epic Games regarding the popular online video game Fortnite.

The US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Northern District of California ruled that Apple’s restriction policies on developers, including its 30% commission on digital goods and services, do not pose a violation against antitrust laws.

She added that Apple does not need to allow other developers, including Epic Games, to use cheaper payment systems on digital platforms.

After Epic criticized Apple’s 30% commission on purchases made on its App Store, and later changed how users can make purchases within Fortnite, Apple kicked the popular video game out of its App Store, and Epic filed the antitrust lawsuit in August 2020.

The judge also ruled that the Cupertino-based firm can maintain App Store as the only download method for its iPhone smartphones and iPad tablets.

She, however, warned that Apple’s restrictions on developers that fails to inform customers of the existence of cheaper and alternative software options is in violation of California state law, and order the company to abandon this practice.

Apple’s stock price was down 2.4% to 150.37 per share on the Nasdaq at 1.00 p.m. EDT.

Anadolu Agency

The productivity of the Turkish industry increased by 22.8% year-on-year in the April-June period of 2021, the Industry and Technology Ministry announced on Friday.

The calendar-adjusted index of production per person employed reached 110.5 in the second quarter of 2021, according to official figures.

When the calendar-adjusted main industry group data is analyzed, the highest annual increase in the production index per worker was recorded in durable consumer goods production with 35.2%.

In the seasonally and calendar-adjusted production index per employee, the highest increase was in energy production with 4.3% in the second quarter compared to the same period last year.

The seasonally and calendar-adjusted total industrial production index per employee decreased by 1.5% to 111.8.

The calendar-adjusted total industrial production per hour worked index decreased by 6.7% to 123.5 in the April-June period of 2021.

Anadolu Agency

Major indices on the US stock market opened strongly on Friday, bouncing back from the previous session’s losses.

The Dow Jones industrial average soared 174 points, or 0.5%, to 35,053 at 9.35 a.m. EDT, and the S&P 500 was up 21 points, or 0.49%, to 4,515.

The Nasdaq increased 89 points, or 0.58%, to 15,337 with AMC Entertainment rising 2.3% and Intel adding 1.8%.

The indices closed Thursday with losses between 0.25% and 0.43% as persistent weak labor market conditions have created downward pressure on the US economic recovery outlook.

Despite higher inflation, which earlier showed producer prices rising 8.3% in August year-on-year, investors were keen on taking advantage of lower stock prices and declining volatility.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, was plummeted 8.2% to 17.26 shortly after opening bell on Wall Street.

The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes was up 1.8% to 1.324%, while the dollar index was flat at 92.47.

Precious metals were mixed with gold remaining almost unchanged at $1,794 per ounce, but silver rising 0.3% to $24.1.

Oil prices reversed course from the previous day’s losses by rising around 2%. Brent crude was trading at $72.79 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate was at $69.64.

Anadolu Agency

US producer prices rose 8.3% in August on an annual basis, higher than the market estimate of 8.2%, according to the US Labor Department on Friday.

The Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures changes in the price of goods and services from a producer perspective, rose 7.8% in July.

In August, the PPI rose 0.7% from the previous month, which was also above the market expectation of 0.6%, after rising 1% in July.

“Two-thirds of the broad-based increase in August can be traced to the index for final demand trade services, which rose 1.5%,” the Labor Department said in a statement.

Core producer prices, which exclude food and energy, also rose 0.6% in August from the previous month, while they jumped 6.7% year-on-year. Market estimates were 0.5% and 6.6%, respectively.

While core PPI increased 1% in July on monthly basis, it was up 6.2% annually.

Anadolu Agency