Jakarta stock index falls first time in five days<\/p>\n
Dadan Wijaksana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Having risen by more than 4 percent in the past week, the Jakarta
\nstock index started to run out of steam and fell by 1.2 percent
\non Thursday from the day before, due primarily to heavy profit-
\ntaking, analysts said.<\/p>\n
Excessive sell-offs in several bluechip stocks, notably those
\nof telecommunication firms and banks, which have enjoyed hefty
\ngains lately, pushed the index lower at 804.43 points.<\/p>\n
The index was 9.78 points lower than the day before with
\ntrading volume at 1.71 billion shares valued at Rp 790.6 billion
\n(about US$91 million).<\/p>\n
Wednesday's close was at an all-time high, boosted by the
\nannouncement of the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono-Yusuf Kalla pairing
\nin the presidential race, dubbed by many analysts as \"market-
\nfriendly\".<\/p>\n
Both were former coordinating ministers in the current
\nadministration.<\/p>\n
The nomination of ret. Gen. Wiranto as the presidential
\naspirant for the Golkar Party had in part spoiled the sentiment
\nand helped spark off profit-taking, some traders said.<\/p>\n
\"Wiranto's candidacy appeared to dampen sentiment, spurring
\nprofit-taking after recent gains,\" a trader with a European
\nbrokerage told Dow Jones.<\/p>\n
Wiranto, with his questionable human rights record, caused
\nmarket jitters he would isolate the country from the global
\ncommunity and further jeopardize investment prospects here, a
\ntrader said.<\/p>\n
The former TNI head has been accused of involvement in the
\nbloody violence during the breakaway of East Timor from Indonesia
\nin 1999, although he has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
Another dealer at a state bank disagreed, saying the profit-
\ntaking was caused more by bargain-hunters wishing to cash in on
\ntheir recent gains.<\/p>\n
\"If (Wiranto's bid) did cause such a fear, the stock index
\nshould have gone down on Wednesday, as Wiranto's presidential bid
\nhad been confirmed before that.<\/p>\n
\"We can see instead the index on that day went up even
\nhigher,\" he told The Jakarta Post, adding that the decline was
\nnormal for a market that had previously been on the rise.<\/p>\n
The country's largest telecommunications firm Telkom -- which
\nhas dropped about 10 percent during the past week -- was down Rp
\n350 at Rp 8,150. Indosat, the second largest telcom, was also
\namong the losers, dropping Rp 100 rupiah to Rp 4,425.<\/p>\n
Banking shares also suffered a decline, with Bank Central Asia
\n(BCA) leading the drop by Rp 75 to close at Rp 3,925.<\/p>\n
Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) lost Rp 50 at Rp 1,859, followed
\nby a Rp 25 drop by the nation's largest lender, Bank Mandiri,
\nwhich ended the day at Rp 1,525.<\/p>\n
As for the gainers, the country's biggest automaker Astra
\nInternational and cigarette producer giant Sampoerna led the
\nlist. Sampoerna jumped by Rp 225 to Rp 5,200, while Astra was up
\nRp 100 at Rp 6,050.<\/p>\n
Dealers said some institutional fund managers continued to buy
\nselect blue chips on hopes of higher first quarter net profits,
\nexpected to be announced next month, Dow Jones reported.<\/p>\n
Dealers said they expect the market Friday to trade flat to
\nlower on further profit-taking.<\/p>\n
On the currency market, the rupiah closed unchanged at 8,650
\nagainst the U.S. dollar, with the central bank thought to have
\nintervened to support the local unit, under pressure recently
\nfrom the dollar's new-found strength.<\/p>\n
Currency analyst Pardi Kendy said currently external factors
\nwere posing more threats to the local market that internal ones.<\/p>",
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