Turkey bans brokerage Alnus from trading small-cap stock Derluks Yatirim
Turkey bans brokerage Alnus from trading small-cap stock Derluks Yatirim By Canan Sevgili
June 12 (Reuters) - Turkey's Capital Markets Board has banned brokerage Alnus Yatirim Menkul Degerler and its owner from trading in shares of small-cap Derluks Yatirim Holding DERHL.IS for two years, it said.
The move highlights growing regulatory concern over sharp and often unexplained price swings in smaller stocks on Borsa Istanbul, which have drawn scrutiny from investors and authorities in recent months.
In a decision published via the regulator's official disclosure system after a June 10 board meeting, the board said the ban would take effect from June 11.
It cited provisions covering "information abuse and market manipulation", but did not specify any precise wrongdoing behind the measure.
Alnus's parent firm, Aynus Holding, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement on X, Alnus said unspecified reports that its operations had been halted or that clients were unable to trade were "completely unfounded", adding that it continued to operate normally.
The firm did not directly comment on the board decision or on Derluks.
Shares in Derluks were up 1.9% by 0920 GMT on Friday, though the stock is down about 9% over the past month.
The shares have been volatile over the past year. They surged nearly 700% between March and May last year, rising from 22.72 lira to 176.8 lira, before giving back those gains by the end of June.
Unusually sharp price movements have been observed on Borsa Istanbul, particularly in small-cap stocks, where trading patterns have at times appeared disconnected from underlying company fundamentals.
(Reporting by Canan Sevgili and Can Sezer; Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Jan Harvey)