By Gokhan Ergocun 

ISTANBUL

Turkey's benchmark stock index increased slightly by 0.13 percent to close at 102,584.26 points on Wednesday. 

Borsa Istanbul's BIST 100 index started the day at 102,899.19 points and gained 135.84 points from Tuesday's close of 102,448.42 points.

The benchmark index hovered between 101,620.48 and 103,089.18 points during Wednesday's trading. 

The total market value of the BIST 100 was around 667 billion Turkish liras ($128.3 billion) by market close and the daily trading volume was 7 billion Turkish liras ($1.34 billion). 

On the third transaction day of the week, 50 stocks on the index were on the rise, while 43 were on the decline, and seven were flat compared to the previous close. 

The top listed companies by market value were Turkish conglomerate Koc Holding ($8.52 billion) and private lenders Garanti ($7.18 billion) and Akbank ($6.77 billion). 

The highest trading volumes were posted by national flag carrier Turkish Airlines, Garanti, and iron/steel producer Kardemir.  

Shares of participation bank Albaraka were the top gainers -- up 17.69 percent -- and energy company Zorlu Enerji dropped most by 7.69 percent. 

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was 5.2280 at close, up from 5.2080 at Tuesday's close. 

The euro/lira exchange rate remained unchanged from the previous day at 5.9570 at daily close. 

One British pound traded for 6.7970 Turkish liras, while the GBP/TRY rate was 6.7700 at close on Tuesday. 

In Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets, the price of one ounce of gold stood at $1,314.10 by market close, compared with the $1,314.00 of the previous day. 

The price of Brent crude oil dropped to $61.57 per barrel as of 6 p.m. (1500GMT) Wednesday, versus $62.45 at the previous day's close.