Jakarta shares end up; Indosat rises<\/p>\n
Dow Jones, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesian shares reversed early losses to end slightly higher
\non Wednesday as bargain-hunters reentered the market, dealers
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Bargain-hunters reentered the market quicker than we expected
\nas most blue chips still looked overbought,\" a dealer with a
\nlocal securities firm said. \"It likely showed that investors are
\nstrongly confident in Indonesia.\"<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Stock Exchange's Composite Index closed up 0.1
\npercent, or 1.369 points, at 1134.692, after having been as low
\nas 1121.816 intraday.<\/p>\n
Gainers led decliners 62 to 53, with 66 stocks unchanged.
\nVolume traded was 1.5 billion shares valued at 1.4 trillion,
\ncompared to 1.6 billion shares valued at Rp 1.4 trillion on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
Leading the rise, Indonesian Satellite, the country's second-
\nlargest telephone company after rival Telekomunikasi Indonesia,
\nadded 1.8 percent to Rp 5,550.<\/p>\n
Bank Mandiri gained 0.4 percent to Rp 1,520.<\/p>\n
Second liners also attracted investor interest, with state-run
\ngold and nickel miner Aneka Tambang rising 2.1 percent to
\nRp 2,400, the local unit of Canadian's Inco, Inco Indonesia,
\nadvancing 2.1 percent to Rp 14,650 and plantation concern Astra
\nAgro increasing 2.6 percent to Rp 4,000.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's largest telecommunications service provider
\nTelekomunikasi Indonesia, or Telkom, fell nearly 2 percent to
\nRp 5,000 on news of a corruption investigation into the company.<\/p>\n
Cigarette maker Gudang Garam dropped 0.4 percent to Rp 12,500
\nbecause its cigarette sales are expected to be hurt by the
\ngovernment move next month to raise minimum cigarette prices.<\/p>\n
Dealers expect further bargain-hunting on Thursday, but high
\noil prices globally could continue to cloud market sentiment.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian rupiah rose Wednesday due to likely market
\nintervention by the country's central bank and the U.S. dollar's
\nweakness against other currencies, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at Rp 9,648, down from its close on Tuesday
\nat Rp 9,665.<\/p>\n
The rupiah also benefited from an easing in dollar demand from
\nlocal corporates, dealers said. Much of that demand was on behalf
\nof state oil importer Pertamina, which is scrambling to comply
\nwith a government directive to increase its fuel reserves to
\ncover consumption for 20 days from a current level of 12 days.<\/p>\n
\"Basically, today was a quiet trading day compared to
\nyesterday's volatility, but again the dollar demand for local
\ncorporates is still healthy for the same reason of importing
\noil,\" a dealer said.<\/p>\n
\"Also, we see some dollar-selling by state banks, probably on
\nbehalf of the central bank as part of its regulatory role in
\npreventing the dollar from rising too fast (against the rupiah).\"<\/p>\n
The dollar's weakness against other major currencies also
\nhelped the rupiah. The dollar fell to HK$7.7706 on Wednesday from
\nHK$7.7743 on Tuesday due to renewed speculation about a possible
\nrevaluation of the Chinese yuan. Against the New Taiwan dollar,
\nthe U.S. dollar closed at NT$31.355, down from NT$31.390 on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's looming implementation of tighter forex trading
\nrules has also severely trimmed speculative trading in the
\nrupiah, traders said.<\/p>\n
Bank Indonesia will implement next month regulations that will
\nrestrict the amount of dollars banks can borrow from offshore
\ncounterparts without underlying transactions at $1 million.
\nPreviously, there was no cap on the amount.<\/p>\n
Central bank officials have said that the move is aimed at
\nreducing the amount of speculative offshore money coming into
\nIndonesia, which can destabilize the exchange rate.<\/p>\n
\"Domestic flow is the main driver (of dollar demand),\" a
\ndealer said. \"Since the regulations came out, I think speculative
\nflows have very much reduced.\"<\/p>\n
Dealers expect the dollar to trade between Rp 9,630 and Rp
\n9,680 on Thursday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakarta-shares-end-up-indosat-rises-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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