Turkish stocks drop more than 3% after MSCI freezes certain index changes

(.) ISTANBUL, Oct 16 (Reuters) — Turkey's main stock index slid more than 3% on Friday after global index provider MSCI froze certain changes to its Turkey equity indexes, saying it needed more time to assess market reforms and warning of a potential downgrade if sufficient progress was not made by mid-2027. The move came amid a crisis in Turkey's investment fund industry after regulators last month ordered the liquidation of 131 funds that had reached more than $20 billion in assets over just three years. The crisis dragged stocks into a bear market, with the main index having its worst month since 2008 in September. The benchmark BIST 100 fell 3.36% by 0930 GMT on Friday, extending losses from a 1.4% decline in early trading. The index was on track for a fifth consecutive weekly decline and remained more than 20% below its record closing high in May. The banking index also came under pressure, falling 2.06% at 0930 GMT, compared with a 1.5% decline in early trading. Gedik Yatirim investment adviser Onurcan Bal said MSCI's latest warnings had intensified selling pressure in an already weak market, with losses spreading across the board. "The possibility of Turkey being removed fro