Rupiah plunge to 14,175, stocks continue gains<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The rupiah returned to its all-too-familiar
\nbearish territory yesterday, plunging to 14,175 against the U.S.
\ndollar. The stock market, meanwhile, maintained its bullish run.<\/p>\n
Currency dealers said the rupiah gave up some of last week's
\ngains on regional weaknesses and concerns about sporadic looting
\nas well as comments by President B.J. Habibie on the ethnic
\nChinese community.<\/p>\n
They said the rupiah's fall yesterday was aggravated by state
\nbanks' move to sell the currency for dollars to cover their short
\ndollar positions after selling a significant amount of dollars
\nlast week.<\/p>\n
\"The rupiah lost support from state banks as they all
\nscrambled for dollars today (yesterday),\" a dealer with a local
\nprivate bank said.<\/p>\n
The rupiah, which closed last week at 13,350 against the U.S.
\ndollar, ended yesterday's trading at 14,150, slightly above its
\nintraday low of 14,400.<\/p>\n
Dealers said the good news from the International Monetary
\nFund on new loans was mitigated by regional weaknesses and
\ndomestic security concerns.<\/p>\n
They said reports about looting at a cooking-oil kiosk at a
\nfood fair in Jakarta on Saturday and looting at shrimp farms in
\nTangerang, West Java, coffee plantations and staple food
\nwarehouses in East Java were also weighing on the currency.<\/p>\n
Habibie's comments in an interview with The Washington Post,
\nin which he downplayed the need for ethnic Chinese businessmen to
\nreturn to the country, also contributed to the fall, dealers
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The negative sentiment in the foreign exchange market
\npermeated the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX), which suffered a 1.6
\npercent drop in morning trade.<\/p>\n
But late buying on some stocks saved the market from closing
\nin negative territory.<\/p>\n
The JSX Composite Index closed 0.5 percent, or 2.451 points,
\nhigher at 488.685. Trading turnover totaled 354.12 million shares
\nvalued at Rp 422.22 billion (US$29.8 million).<\/p>\n
Stockbrokers said the rise seemed to be engineered as it only
\ncame in the last few minutes of trading.<\/p>\n
Harita Kencana Securities' research head Karman Pamurahardjo
\nsaid there were few fundamental reasons for the local market to
\nmake further gains as it had been overbought recently.<\/p>\n
\"The perception in general is that the market has been
\noverbought. And logically, it should go down for a while on
\nprofit taking,\" Karman said.<\/p>\n
\"But, so far, the market has defied analysts' predictions.<\/p>\n
\"So, my prediction is that if the index could surpass the
\nresistance level of 490, 492 points, it would go up further to
\ncrack the 500 barrier. But if not, it will decline on profit
\ntaking.\" (rid)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rupiah-plunge-to-14175-stocks-continue-gains-1447893297",
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