Investor exodus hits Turkish stock market post-peak

Borsa Istanbul experienced significant volatility in the last quarter of last year. The excitement of the previous quarter waned due to the rise of alternative investment options, and sharp losses in December triggered an investor exodus.

According to Şebnem Turhan from Ekonomim, data from the Central Registry Agency shows that on December 13, the number of investors in Borsa Istanbul reached a historic high of 8.6 million but fell to 7.6 million by January 4, 2024, just 16 trading days later. Experts emphasize that the pause in IPOs and the recent losses significantly contributed to this decline.

THE LAST CALL FOR IPOs STARTED ON DECEMBER 13

The BIST100 index ended 2023 with a nominal increase of 36.5% in Turkish Lira but a real loss of 18% for investors, largely due to steep declines in the final quarter. The last IPO of the year for Avrupakent GYO had its collection dates between December 13-15, 2023. Since December 7, the Capital Markets Board has not approved any new IPOs, and experts predict no new IPOs for the stock market in the first month of 2024. This last IPO marked the peak of investor numbers before the downturn began.

SHARPEST DROP ON DECEMBER 25

According to the Central Registry Agency, the investor count dropped to 8.57 million by December 15, a loss of 28.1 thousand. By December 22, the number further decreased to 8.45 million. The most significant drop occurred on December 25, with 405,429 investors leaving the stock market in a single day, bringing the count down to 8.05 million. The decline continued each trading day, reaching 7.6 million by January 4, 2024.

THREE OF THE TOP FIVE DECLINERS WERE NEWLY PUBLICLY LISTED

Between December 13 and January 4, out of 533 stocks, 403 (or 75.6%) saw a decrease in price, while only 130 (or 24.4%) managed to rise. The most significant drop was in Gübretaş stocks, which fell by 53.95% after failing to receive approval for capital increase, followed by Kuyaş with a 45.03% drop. Newly publicly listed Sur Tatil Evleri GYO, which started trading on December 14, saw a 43.76% decrease in stock price. Other newly listed companies, Çates Elektrik and Şeker Yatırım, also experienced significant losses.

During this period, 17 stocks suffered losses of over 25%, while 98 companies saw their stock prices drop by more than 10%. A total of 288 companies ended the 16 trading days with losses below 10%.

IPO INDEX DECLINES

From December 13, 2023, to January 4, 2024, the BIST100 index saw a modest increase of 0.25%. However, the banking index dropped by 1.02%, while the IPO index faced a loss of up to 4%. Other indices like the industrial index and BISTTÜMY fell by 0.86% and 2.1%, respectively. The trade index experienced the most significant loss at 5.26%. In contrast, the food index rose by 6.5%, and the technology and communication indices increased by 4.07% and 13.04%, respectively.

IS BANK STOCK RISES 11.77%

Among the stocks that rose during this period, Bayrak EBT Taban, publicly listed since June 2020, led the increase with a 58.35% rise. Other notable increases were seen in Ensari Deri (34.83%), Ersu (27.76%), and Katılımevim (25.76%). Aksa Akrilik and Suwen rose by 25.24% and 22.06%, respectively, while İş Bankası's stock increased by 11.77%.