(Updates prices, adds details)
ISTANBUL, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Turkish shares fell on Thursday, dragged down by mobile phone operator Turkcell which dropped sharply on worse-than-expected results, and by banking stocks whose recent red-hot rally has sparked profit-taking.
The benchmark May 11, 2011, bond yield was stable at 10.10 percent, amid re-assurances for investors this week that demand for Turkish paper is strong and foreigners are returning to the market after successful auctions.
The lira eased to 1.4680 to the dollar versus the previous day's 1.457.
At 1120 GMT the ISE National 100 index was 1.64 percent weaker at 43,181, continuing to ease back from a 17-month high on Monday, as analysts predict the rally will lose steam.
The main share index has rallied almost 20 percent in the last month, bringing total gains this year to 67 percent, beating a rise in the MSCI index of emerging markets of 51 percent in the same period.
"We expect a declining trend in the short term following the sharp rally. There is a selling pressure on banking stocks, after high gains. We think the index will continue to keep its downtrend for a while, supports stand at 43,000 and 41,000," said Tuncay Tursucu at Meksa Securities. "There isn't really any negative news out there ... winds are still positive in the global markets and the U.S. and Japan are showing positive signs. I regard the weakness as short-term and a profit-taking period, before a rebound."
Shares in mobile phone operator Turkcell fell 4.64 percent to 9.25 lira after it posted a 42 percent drop in second-quarter net profit to $245.8 million, blaming a weaker lira and provisions set aside for litigation.
Profit-taking hit the stock after strong gains prior to the earnings announcement but analyst Cemal Demirtas said its operating performance was intact, and Turkcell told Reuters in an interview it expected to raise its EBITDA profit margin to 34-35 percent from a current 32.2 percent.
The banking index fell 2.14 percent. Its weighting accounts for about 40 percent of the benchmark index.
Garanti Bank, the third-biggest listed bank and Turkey's most traded stock, late on Wednesday posted net profit of 765 million lira, beating an average forecast of 741 million.
But its shares traded down 1.9 percent as strong results have become a matter of course for Turkish banks this year after funding became much cheaper.
Yapi Kredi fell 3.92 percent after local brokers Tera downgraded the bank to "neutral" from "buy" on account of its valuation and limited upside potential.
Turkish Airlines rose 4.65 percent to 2.70 lira bringing total gains this week to 16.7 percent.
After investors continue to respond eagerly to its ambitious expansion programme it was further boosted by news of an increased discount for aeroplane landing and parking tariffs announced by the government on Wednesday as it tries to shore up the tourism industry. (Reporting by Alexandra Hudson; Editing by Ron Askew)