After the major earthquake disaster in Türkiye, Borsa İstanbul suffered significant losses. As reactions mounted and losses over two days exceeded 10%, circuit breakers were triggered. The three activations of circuit breakers aimed primarily to protect small investors from further losses.
Following the suspension of trading, experts issued consecutive statements saying that reopening the exchange on Wednesday would not be appropriate. Many groups also argued that trading should remain halted due to the earthquake centered in Kahramanmaraş, which caused severe damage and a high number of casualties across ten provinces.
WHEN WILL THE STOCK EXCHANGE REOPEN?
After cumulative two-day losses at Borsa İstanbul exceeded 10%, circuit breakers were invoked three times. Experts say it would be inappropriate to reopen the market on Wednesday and recommend extending the closure for an additional five days.
Calls to halt trading echoed memories of the 1999 earthquake, after which the exchange remained closed for nine days. Those appeals intensified in the first hours after the Kahramanmaraş-centered quake. Although trading was suspended on February 8, initial announcements indicated the market would reopen on Wednesday, February 15.
EXPERTS SAY REOPENING IS A MISTAKE
Dr. Altuğ Özaslan, CEO of Fortuna Capital, commented on TGRT Haber that he does not consider it appropriate to reopen the exchange on Wednesday. He emphasized that publicly traded companies need to disclose how the earthquake has affected them and what their expectations are going forward.
THE EXCHANGE MAY REMAIN CLOSED FOR 5 MORE DAYS
In line with expert assessments, it is being argued that the exchange expected to open on Wednesday should remain closed for a longer period. The Stock Exchange Experts Association announced that markets within Borsa İstanbul should extend their closure for at least five more business days.
Experts also recommend encouraging share buyback programs at publicly listed companies on BIST, easing regulatory procedures around those programs, and allowing institutions that repurchase shares to sell assets without lengthy waiting periods while receiving tax reliefs. Overall, specialists stress that the exchange is not yet ready to resume normal trading operations.