Turkish stock market plunges, authorities launch emergency rescue measures

Glonghui, March 2nd丨On Monday, due to the escalation of the Middle East conflict, the Turkish stock market plummeted. At 9:55 a.m. Istanbul time (UTC+8), the Borsa Istanbul 100 Index dropped by 5.3%. Turkish officials announced a series of measures targeting the foreign exchange market, stocks, and funds to protect investors from market volatility. The Turkish Capital Markets Board imposed a temporary short-selling ban on stocks, effective until March 6, and lowered the minimum equity protection requirement from 35% to 20%. The short-selling ban prevents investors from betting on further declines in stock prices, while the reduced equity threshold eases margin requirements, allowing traders to maintain leveraged positions with less of their own capital. The Borsa Istanbul also reduced the order-to-trade ratio from 5:1 to 3:1, tightening the restriction on the number of orders participants can submit relative to the number of executed orders. This move aims to curb the submission and cancellation of orders, thereby impacting high-frequency trading and algorithmic trading strategies.