Following the Central Bank of Turkey’s (CBRT) tightening steps, appetite for Turkish lira (TL)-denominated instruments has regained strength. According to the April Market Professionals Survey (MPS) conducted by Spinn Consulting with 111 financial market participants, TL deposits and domestic fixed income instruments once again came to the forefront in portfolio allocations.

šŸ’° Strengthening Shift Toward TL Deposits

After nine months of neutrality, preferences are shifting back to increasing allocations. While 49.55% of participants recommend increasing weight in TL deposits, the share of ā€œhold neutralā€ fell from 42.4% to 30.6%. This trend is supported by rising deposit rates following CBRT’s rate hikes and relatively contained inflation expectations.

šŸ“Š Growing Interest in Fixed Income

  • In short-term domestic bonds, the recommendation to ā€œincrease weightā€ rose from 30.5% to 39.6%.

  • In long-term bonds, it increased from 22.0% to 24.3%.

In both categories, the ā€œneutralā€ view gained ground, while ā€œreduce weightā€ recommendations declined.

šŸ“‰ Uncertainty Prevails in Equities

The ā€œneutralā€ sentiment that began in March for domestic equities persisted in April:

  • 50.4% of participants recommend ā€œhold neutralā€ for equities.

  • The ā€œreduceā€ or ā€œstrongly reduceā€ weight view, which had jumped from 13.1% to 35.6% in March, fell back to 26.1% in April.

šŸ’± Pullback in FX and Gold

The ā€œincrease weightā€ view in FX instruments—which had exceeded 50% in March—shifted back to ā€œneutralā€ in April:

  • 46.8% recommended ā€œneutralā€ for spot FX,

  • 49.5% for FX deposits (DTH).

A similar pullback occurred in gold:

  • The ā€œincrease weightā€ view dropped from 43.2% in March to 27.0% in April.

  • 38.7% said ā€œneutral,ā€ while 26.1% suggested ā€œreduce weight.ā€

šŸŒ Stability in Foreign Instruments

  • The share of ā€œneutralā€ in eurobonds declined from 54.2% to 47.75%, while ā€œreduce weightā€ rose from 14.4% to 19.8%.

  • In foreign equities, the ā€œneutralā€ view declined from 48.3% to 36.9%, while ā€œincrease weightā€ climbed from 23.7% to 30.6%.

šŸ“… June MPC Outlook: No Cut Expected, Focus on Funding Strategy

In the bonus question of the survey, responses from 110 professionals regarding the June MPC meeting were as follows:

  • 46 respondents: No rate change; funding will continue through the upper band

  • 43 respondents: No rate change; funding will shift back to weekly repo auctions

  • 14 respondents: Expect an upward revision in the interest rate corridor

  • 2 respondents: Expect a hike in the policy rate

  • 5 respondents: Expect a downward adjustment in the corridor

There’s no clear expectation of a rate cut, and consensus leans heavily toward maintaining the current levels.

šŸ“‰ Portfolio Shifts Reflect Lower Weight in Equities and FX

Survey responses to portfolio allocation questions confirm this trend:

  • The share of domestic equities fell from 20.5% in March to 19.5% in April.

  • USD/TRY allocation dropped 3 points to 9.1%.

  • Allocations to gold, DTH, and eurobonds also declined.

  • Foreign equities rose by 1.65 points to 8.8%.

Meanwhile, TL deposits, with a 28.6% share, remained above equities for the second month in a row.The shares of short- and long-term bonds rose to 6.6% and 5.2%, respectively.

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