Rupiah steady but stocks down on profit taking<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The fluctuating rupiah held steady yesterday,
\nbut stock prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange continued to
\ndecline on profit taking and regional weaknesses.<\/p>\n
The rupiah traded at around 14,000 against the U.S. dollar
\nthroughout the day on a quiet market. The currency ended the
\nday's trading at 14,000\/200, unmoved from Tuesday's close of
\n14,000.<\/p>\n
A dealer with a local private bank said the rupiah was
\nsupported by President B.J. Habibie's statement yesterday that he
\nwould initiate a law to end discrimination against Chinese-
\nIndonesians.<\/p>\n
\"It's pretty quiet today. The jitters are over, and trading
\nwas very slow. Maybe it's because of the promise from President
\nHabibie to end discrimination against ethnic Chinese here.\"<\/p>\n
The market was jittery Monday following Habibie's comment in
\nan interview with The Washington Post, in which he downplayed the
\nneed for Chinese-Indonesian businesspeople to return to the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Dealers said the market was awaiting results of the
\nConsultative Group on Indonesia meeting in Paris at the end of
\nthis month and implementation of the Indonesian Debt
\nRestructuring Agency.<\/p>\n
\"Indications so far are still positive. And we hope the impact
\non our currency will also be positive,\" a dealer with another
\nlocal private bank said.<\/p>\n
Stock prices were weighed down by the fall of other regional
\nmarkets and mounting concerns over a possible rise in the U.S.
\ninterest rates, stockbrokers said.<\/p>\n
They said the fall in regional markets was aggravated by U.S.
\nFederal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan's testimony before the
\nU.S. Congress Tuesday, which raised fears of imminent interest
\nrate increases.<\/p>\n
The JSX Composite Index fell 1.1 percent or 5.18 points to
\n483.05 on a total turnover of 395.43 million shares valued at Rp
\n546.40 billion (US$39.02 million).<\/p>\n
Stockbrokers said profit taking on some blue chip stocks like
\nTelkom, Indosat and Tambang Timah, which account for around 30
\npercent of market capitalization in the local bourse, also pushed
\nthe benchmark price index to fall further yesterday after making
\ngains over the past few days.<\/p>\n
\"Profit taking in some big-capitalization companies caused the
\nindex to fall,\" a broker with Mashill Jaya Securities said.<\/p>\n
Telkom's shares slipped by Rp 175 to close at Rp 4,350 on 2.14
\nmillion shares traded, Indosat by Rp 950 to Rp 15,900 on 64,500
\nshares and Tambang Timah by Rp 1,100 to Rp 8,900 on 1.42 million
\nshares.<\/p>\n
Christina Lim, a director of Harita Kencana Securities, said
\ntrading was quite active but it was mostly driven by rumors
\nrather than fundamentals.<\/p>\n
\"There is almost no trading based on companies' fundamentals
\nnow, and most short-term investors buy stocks for speculation
\nonly.\"<\/p>\n
Analysts and brokers said that although trading activities had
\nincreased over the past few weeks, rising concerns over the
\ncountry's social and political problems remained a big obstacle
\nfor most investors.<\/p>\n
Reports said hundreds of people burned vehicles, houses and
\nwarehouses in the town of Porsea, North Sumatra, following a
\ndispute over logging with rayon company PT Inti Indorayon.<\/p>\n
\"Sporadic riots will only scare away potential investors,\"
\nChristina said. (aly\/rid)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rupiah-steady-but-stocks-down-on-profit-taking-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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