Stock Market Sell-Off: Middle East Tensions and Economic Expectations

The BIST 100 index fell by 307.42 points, with a total trading volume of 200.8 billion lira. The banking index lost 3.25%, while the holding index declined by 1.90%. The only gainer among sector indices was the information technology sector, with a gain of 0.30%, while the transportation sector was the biggest loser, with a decline of 4.38%. The announcement by US President Donald Trump that the ceasefire with Iran had ended and that a severe attack on Iran was likely to take place tonight led to an increase in selling pressure in global markets. Meanwhile, the final declaration of the 36th NATO Summit, hosted by Turkey on July 7-8, was published. The declaration announced a new procurement agreement worth over $50 billion and pledged to increase collective production capacity and accelerate innovation in cooperation with industry. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) updated its World Economic Outlook Report, revising its global economic growth forecast for this year from 3.1% to 3.0%. The report predicted that the Turkish economy would grow by 2.9% this year and 3.6% next year. Market attention is focused on the release of the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes tonight. Analysts expect the release of weekly money and banking statistics in Turkey, as well as inflation data in China, weekly jobless claims in the US, existing home sales, machine orders in Japan, and the trade balance in Germany. Technically, the BIST 100 index is expected to find support at 14,100 and 14,000 points and resistance at 14,200 and 14,300 points.