The Istanbul Stock Exchange has been closed for the first time in 24 years, for five days due to the business downturn following the earthquake in Turkey.
A statement issued by the Istanbul Stock Exchange said that after the earthquake in Turkey, it had been decided to close the stock exchange due to business fluctuations and unusual changes in prices.
The statement further said that a lot of losses had been seen before the announcement of the closure of the business and the transactions were very low.
“All trade deals made due to closure from February 8 will be considered canceled and this closure will continue till the evening of February 14,” the statement added.
Turkish opposition lawmaker Murat Bakin said in his reaction to the announcement of the Istanbul Stock Exchange that the announcement of business closure alone is not enough; the stock exchange should cancel all trade deals made since the day of the earthquake.
In his tweet, he added that such a decision of the stock exchange will protect the capital of more than 500,000 small investors who died under the debris or are still waiting for help.
The last time the business was closed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange was after the 1999 earthquake, in which more than 17,000 deaths were recorded.
More than 15,000 people lost their lives in Monday’s earthquake in Turkey and Syria, while thousands of people had been displaced and forced to come under the open sky in the harsh winter.
