Is Turkey mulling a tax on stock and crypto investments? Bloomberg reported earlier on Tuesday that Turkey is close to imposing a transaction tax on trading in stocks and cryptocurrencies, citing official sources, who revealed that the Finance Minister discussed the plan last week. Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek last week denied the news, saying only that the government is considering a “very limited” transaction tax.

The tax would come as part of a monetary tightening plan, aimed at shoring up Turkey’s fiscal position and boosting price stability, Reuters reports.

Turks are taking a liking to the market: This move could reel in substantial proceeds as more Turks are investing in the stock market, which saw equity accounts surge to 8.3 mn this year, a nearly seven-fold increase since early 2020, Bloomberg said, citing the Central Securities Depository of Turkey.

But the tax could reduce volatility, analysts say: “In the short term, this sounds like pain for the equity market, but in the long term, it means a huge gain, [as this tax may] reduce volatility, enhance the investment culture and reduce speculation,” Burak Cetinceker, a money manager at Strateji Portfoy in Istanbul told Bloomberg.

ALSO IN PLANET FINANCE- Gamestop shares fell almost 40% on Friday after the company reported a 29% y-o-y dip in net sales during 1Q 2024 and shared its plan to sell more shares. Meme stock trader Roaring Kitty’s held his first livestream in three years to sway investor sentiment, but failed to stop the sell-off. (Financial Times)

EGX30

26,429

-0.8% (YTD: +6.2%)

USD (CBE)

Buy 47.45

Sell 47.59

USD (CIB)

Buy 47.48

Sell 47.58

Interest rates (CBE)

27.25% deposit

28.25% lending

Tadawul

11,560

+0.1% (YTD: -3.4%)

ADX

8,957

+0.2% (YTD: -6.5%)

DFM

3,982

+0.1% (YTD: -1.9%)

S&P 500

5,347

-0.1% (YTD: +12.1%)

FTSE 100

8,245

-0.5% (YTD: +9.0%)

Euro Stoxx 50

5,051

-0.4% (YTD: +11.7%)

Brent crude

USD 79.62

-0.3%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 2.92

+3.4%

Gold

USD 2,325

-2.8%

BTC

USD 69,362.10

+0.2% (YTD: +64.1%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 0.8% at Thursday’s close on turnover of EGP 2.0 bn (58.2% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net sellers. The index is up 6.2% YTD.

In the green: Eastern Company (+4.9%), Delta Sugar (+2.5%), and Mopco (+0.7%).

In the red: E-Finance (-6.3%), Qalaa Holdings (-3.8%), and Palm Hills Development (-3.3%).

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