Turkish authorities convene emergency financial meeting after 7.5 pct stock plunge

ISTANBUL, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's Financial Stability Committee convened on Thursday after the country's benchmark stock index fell more than 7.5 percent at one point amid mounting market liquidity concerns.

The meeting was held to assess the latest developments in the financial markets, the Ministry of Treasury and Finance said in a statement.

According to Borsa Istanbul data, heavy selling on Wednesday triggered an index-based circuit breaker in the afternoon, with the benchmark BIST 100 index ultimately closing 5.54 percent lower at 13,122.58 points.

The sharp market downturn was primarily driven by liquidity shortages at mutual funds following recent regulatory changes, the online economy news platform Ekonomim reported.

On Aug. 28, the Capital Markets Board introduced regulatory changes concerning mutual funds, prompting increased redemption requests and adding to liquidity pressures in the market, it said.

Selling pressure intensified as portfolio management firms struggled to meet sudden cash demands, creating liquidity bottlenecks and forcing stock sales to meet investor withdrawals, according to Ekonomim.

In response to the market volatility, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office also launched an ex-officio investigation into social media posts suspected of causing panic and manipulating capital markets.