UPDATE 1-Turkish stocks turn positive, lira firm
(Recasts, updates prices, adds comment)
ISTANBUL, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Turkish stocks reversed early losses to trade firmer on Friday while the lira eased against the dollar as investors waited for further news of Ankara's economic stimulus package and a likely IMF loan deal.
At 1415 GMT Istanbul's main share index traded 1.05 percent higher at 25,650 points, gaining further after rising 15.5 percent in the last five days, and outperforming the MSCI index .MSCIEF of emerging market shares which traded up 0.12 percent.
It has still lost more than half of its value since the start of 2008 however.
The lira IYIX= closed on Friday at 1.5740, slightly weaker than its Thursday close of 1.5705. The currency has lost as much as a third of its value since a global asset sell-off in October, but has pulled back from lows of 1.74 to the greenback.
"A buying wave in stocks such as Turkcell (TCELL.IS), Anadolu Efes ADEFES.IS, and Coca Cola (CCOLA.IS) has driven the index into positive territory," said an Istanbul-based trader.
Turkcell, Turkey's leading mobile phone operator, on Friday submitted the winning bid of 358 million euros for the most attractive 3G licence on offer. [nLS408246]
Its shares traded up 5.9 percent to 8.95 Turkish lira.
Fixed-line operator Turk Telekom (TTKOM.IS), whose mobile phone unit Avea submitted a winning bid for a lower frequency licence, saw its shares fall by 1.73 percent to 3.40 lira.
Friday's gainers included brewer Anadolu Efes, which traded up 5.13 percent and Coca Cola which also gained 7.4 percent.
The yield on the June 23, 2010 benchmark <0#TRTSYSUM=IS> fell to 20.14 percent from the previous day's close of 20.36 percent.
The lira lost some of its gains as investors worried over the time it was taking for the government to agree to a new stand-by deal with the International Monetary Fund to help Turkey weather a global financial crisis.
Analysts say the government is increasingly likely to opt for a regular, more strict stand-by deal that will give it immediate access to billions of dollars in loans.
The government is also working on an economic package to improve credit available for companies, help boost employment and economic growth. Details are expected in the coming days.
(Editing by Victoria Main)
