Jakarta shares down on profit taking<\/p>\n
Dow Jones, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesian shares ended marginally lower on Thursday, taking a
\nhit from profit-taking in Bank Mandiri and oil and gas producer
\nMedco Energi as well as declines in most Asian markets, dealers
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The weaker rupiah against the U.S dollar also hurt sentiment.
\nThe dollar closed at Rp 9,610, up from its Rp 9,585 on Wednesday
\nclose on dollar demand from importers and the U.S. currency's
\nstrength against other regional currencies, dealers said.<\/p>\n
\"The market ran out of steam after gains in the previous two
\nsessions,\" said a trader with Paramitra Securities.<\/p>\n
He said concerns over the nation's security following a small
\nexplosion outside a cleric's house on the outskirts of the
\ncapital yesterday also added to negative sentiment.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite index fell 1.32 points,
\nor 0.1 percent, to Rp 1,094.19.<\/p>\n
Decliners led gainers 64 to 34, with 79 stocks unchanged.
\nVolume was 848 million shares valued at Rp 715 billion, compared
\nwith 1.2 billion shares valued at Rp 899 billion on Wednesday.
\nBank Mandiri fell 0.7 percent to Rp 1,530 on profit-taking after
\ngaining 2 percent on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Dealers also attributed the decline to expectations that the
\nbank's 2005 earnings will be hit by higher non-performing loans.
\nAt the end of March, Bank Mandiri's net profit fell 70 percent on
\nyear due to higher loan provisions.<\/p>\n
Medco fell 2.8 percent to Rp 3,425 on strong profit-taking
\nafter it jumped 4.4 percent on Wednesday ahead of its plan to
\nsell a stake of around 40 percent through a secondary offering on
\nthe Luxembourg bourse in the second half of this year.<\/p>\n
Among other decliners, bellwether Telekomunikasi Indonesia
\ndropped 0.5 percent to Rp 4,700 after its American depositary
\nreceipts in New York fell 1.3 percent to $19.50 on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
On the upside, a rebound in cigarette maker Gudang Garam
\nprevented the main index from a deeper decline, dealers said.<\/p>\n
Garam rose 1.7 percent to Rp 12,000 after the government said
\nit will only raise the minimum retail price of cigarettes by 15
\npercent, compared with its initial plan of a 20 percent increase.<\/p>\n
Dealers said they expect the market to decline Friday on
\ncontinued profit-taking in select blue chips.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, rupiah closed lower on dollar demand from importers
\nand the U.S. currency's rebound against other major currencies,
\ndealers said.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at Rp 9,610, up from its close on Wednesday
\nat Rp 9,585.<\/p>\n
Dealers said that Bank Indonesia was suspected to have sold
\ndollars to help ease the pressure on the rupiah, but the amount
\nwas likely small.<\/p>\n
\"Dollar supply from Bank Indonesia seemed to be small, and
\nsporadic,\" a dealer at a local bank said.<\/p>\n
Dealers expect the dollar to trade above Rp 9,600 on Friday as
\nit has closed above the psychologically significant level.<\/p>\n
\"The greenback will likely trade between Rp 9,600 and Rp 9,625
\ntomorrow,\" a dealer with a foreign bank said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakarta-shares-down-on-profit-taking-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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