Turkish shares rise on Isbank results

Turkey’s stock market jumped more than 1 per cent on Wednesday on the back of strong Isbank financial results and the lira inched higher as data showed unemployment unchanged at 9.1 per cent at the end of 2011, pointing to a still robust economy. The jobless rate in Turkey came down into single figures last year on the back of double digit economic growth rates early in the year that prompted Turkey’s central bank to tighten monetary policy. But there are worries that the economy could yet be in for a hard landing given its high current account shortfall and funding needs at a time when the eurozone crisis is putting pressure on global growth and capital flows. “The fact that it (the unemployment rate) stayed unchanged confirms that the underlying trend is still robust,” wrote Piotr Matys, analyst at 4Cast Limited. “Fairly low unemployment rate bodes well for domestic demand, although it won’t be as robust this year as in 2011 after central bank’s tightening measures implemented to curb excessive credit growth,” Matys added. Unemployment stood at 9.3 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis in October-December, a touch down compared with 9.4 per cent in the previous period.