Turkish stock market plunges over protests
Turkish stock market index drops over nationwide anti-government protests
Police use water cannon as protesters run to avoid tear gas during the third day of nationwide anti-government protest near the Prime Minister's office at Besiktas area in Istanbul, late Sunday, June 2, 2013. Protests in Istanbul and several other Turkish cities appear to have subsided, after days of fierce clashes following a police crackdown on a peaceful gathering. The demonstrations grew out of anger over a violent police crackdown of a peaceful environmental protest at Istanbul's Taksim Square and spread to other Turkish cities. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
ISTANBUL (AP) -- Turkey's main stock exchange dropped sharply on Monday, following three days of anti-government protests.
The Borsa Istanbul 100 Index was down 8 percent by midafternoon as investors worried about the destabilizing effect of the demonstrations on the economy.
Thousands have joined the rallies — the biggest Turkey has seen in years — to voice discontent with the 10-year rule of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
