Turkey’s stock market tumbled on Wednesday after President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an stepped up his criticism of Israel and its allies at a time when Ankara is desperate to secure western investment to fuel its economic overhaul. 

The benchmark Bist 100 index dropped more than 7 per cent in its biggest slide since early February, according to FactSet data. The steep drop triggered multiple trading curbs known as “circuit breakers”, which are designed to soothe panicky markets. 

Wednesday’s stock rout came after Erdo?an in the afternoon said: “Israel’s attacks on Gaza are a situation that attests to both murder and a state of mental illness, both for those who carry them out and for those who support them.” The Turkish president also said Hamas, which carried out a brutal attack on Israel on October 7, is not a terrorist organisation but rather a “group for liberation”.