Blue chips push shares down<\/p>\n
Dow Jones, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Shares ended lower on Tuesday led by telecom and consumer blue
\nchips amid security concerns ahead of the presidential run-off in
\nSeptember, dealers said.<\/p>\n
\"Selling occurred almost across the blue-chip board,\" said a
\ntrader with BNI Securities.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite index ended down 10.505
\npoints, or 1.4 percent, at 738.866, off an intraday low of
\n731.055. Decliners led gainers 84 to 17, with 90 stocks
\nunchanged. Volume was 1.2 billion shares valued at Rp 507
\nbillion.<\/p>\n
Leading decliners were Index heavyweight Telkom and consumer
\ngoods producer Unilever Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Telkom fell Rp 250, or 3.3 percent, to Rp 7,400 on profit-
\ntaking after the company Monday closed registration for its 2003
\ndividend of Rp 302 a share.<\/p>\n
Unilever dropped Rp 150, or 4.2 percent, to Rp 3,400 on talk
\nthe company plans to issue rights shares.<\/p>\n
Also lower were shares of cigarette maker Gudang Garam, down
\nRp 350, or 2.7 percent, at Rp 12,750 on expectations the company
\nwill book lower full-year earnings this year due to rising clove
\nprices.<\/p>\n
Cement maker Semen Gresik bucked the trend, gaining Rp 100, or
\n1.3 percent, to Rp 9,850 on expectations the company will
\ncomplete its 2002 and 2003 financial audit by October.<\/p>\n
Dealers expect the market to trade lower Wednesday on further
\nselling in select blue chips.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the rupiah closed slightly lower Tuesday as local
\ncompanies continued to buy dollars to pay offshore debts maturing
\nat the end of the month.<\/p>\n
A government bond auction in the local market helped the local
\ncurrency to reduce its losses, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The dollar finished at Rp 9,275, up from its close of 9,265
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
Local companies are saddled with offshore borrowings estimated
\nat $60 billion. Payment of maturing debts frequently dogs the
\nlocal currency.<\/p>\n
\"Demand for the dollar was quite healthy as local companies
\nbought the unit almost at the same time,\" said a dealer with a
\nforeign bank in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The dollar touched an intraday high of 9,310 earlier in the
\nday but selloffs from foreign market participants late afternoon
\ncut its gains.<\/p>\n
Dealers said offshore investors likely sold the U.S. unit to
\nsettle their purchases of government bonds in an auction Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The government issued Rp 3 trillion in 10-year bonds in the
\nauction, with weighted average yield of 11.74 percent.<\/p>\n
Dealers said Bank Indonesia is also suspected to have sold
\ndollars via state banks to defend the local unit.<\/p>\n
\"We are always ready to intervene if necessary,\" Bank
\nIndonesia's Deputy Governor Aslim Tadjuddin told Dow Jones
\nNewswires. But he declined to confirm if the central bank
\nactually sold dollars Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Dealers expect the central bank to remain in the market at
\nleast for the rest of the week as dollar demand from local
\ncompanies is not expected to evaporate as yet.<\/p>\n
They expect the dollar to trade between 9,250 and 9,300
\nWednesday.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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